On March 6, 1970, several Weatherman gathered in the basement of a four-story Greenwich Village townhouse, preparing for an upcoming dynamite attack on an officer's dance at Fort Dix, New Jersey. Due to an improperly attached wire, the townhouse exploded. Three Weathermen were killed, including Ayers' then-girlfriend Diana Oughton. Over the next few months the rest of the organization went into hiding.
The townhouse explosion deeply affected the organization, now renamed the Weather Underground Organization (WUO). The WUO still bombed buildings, but they always made sure to issue warnings beforehand to prevent injury. In 1971, they detonated several small bombs around the U.S. Capitol, in protest of the U.S. invasion of Laos. Several more followed: the 1972 Pentagon bombing (for the U.S. bombing of Hanoi); the 1973 bombing of ITT Headquarters in New York (protesting the government-backed coup in Chile); and the 1975 bombing of the U.S. Department of State (escalation in Vietnam).
By 1973, the FBI had launched a full-scale manhunt for the Weather Underground's most wanted members, but was scuttled when the CIA admitted it had conducted illegal investigations. Even the "Days of Rage" arrests were largely dropped because the Chicago Police Department had conducted searches without obtaining warrants.
It's cute to watch the press lie for Barack and that's Claire Suddath doing her part with "The Weather Underground" (Time magazine). She fails to note 1979 was when the last charges were dropped or that Bill Ayers rich daddy bought off Chicago and did so repeatedly while Bill and Bernardine were hiding out. It's always hilarious when Richard Daley speaks up for Bill Ayers. Richard, like his father, is nothing but pure greed. If Ayers' father wasn't rich, he would have gone to jail the way others in Weather did.
Speaking of lies, Anita Dunn is the liar of the week. She's taken the "he was only eight years old!" lie and is now insisting "he was only seven-years-old!" Liar.
I know everyone hates Diane Rehm after the primaries. No problem. The shaky voiced fool brought it on herself. She lied over and over during her 'coverage.' She lied for Barack non-stop and slimed Hillary every chance she got. Last week she and E.J. Dionne were lying on Sarah Palin. I heard about that on a photo shoot today. Some idiot Barack supporter called in to her show last Friday. He said Sarah Palin had talked about 'our friends' "Maliki and Talibani" and the caller was going on how about she didn't know anything and the Taliban was our enemy. Diane didn't correct him and E.J. ran with it. Talabani, pay attention LIAR DIANE REHM, is Jalal Talabani. He is the president of Iraq.
What a tired old fool Diane Rehm is. Her old ass needs to be shoved out the plane with a golden parachute so she can dotter and dither away from the public airwaves. She's nothing but a LIAR.
I laughed so hard at that story but didn't believe it. Then I got back and pulled up her archives. Sure enough, some guy named Joe called in and there was Diane handing off to E.J. so he could run with it.
Who's the idiot? I would say Diane and E.J. if they didn't know that Talabani was the president of Iraq. But the fact of the matter is, when you've got two liars together, it's really hard to excuse their lies under stupidity.
But the NPR ombudsperson should take it up and if Diane wants to claim she was unaware that Iraq's president was Talabani, they should use that as the excuse to get her tired, old ass out the door.
This is Sarah Palin speaking to reporters today about Ayers and Barack, "It's relevant to connect that association he has with Ayers, not so much he as a person Ayers, but the whole situation and the truthfulness and the judgment there that you must question if again he's not being forthright in all of his answers. It makes you wonder about the forthrightness, the truthfulness of the plans he's telling Americans with regards to the economic recovery."
I agree with her. There are two parts. There was his decision to become friends with Ayers. That friendship isn't the end of the world. But there is his deceit and repeated attempts to obscure the relationship.
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Tuesday, October 7, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces another death, tensions escalate between Turkey and northern Iraq, Barack tries to scramble away from another friend, and more.
As of last weekend, Poland is now officially out of Iraq. The 'coalition' continues to shrink.
Reuters reports Zoran Kojanovski, Macedonia's Defence Minister, declared today that his country's will leave at the end of the year and he stated, "Their mission is over and local authorities there are capable of running their own territory."
From who's leaving to what's going on. The law for provincial elections? Leila Fadel knew what was what but no one else did. Dropping back to Friday's snapshot:In Iraq today . . . confusion. Corinne Reilly (McClatchy Newspapers) reports that the presidency council "has agreed to approve a long-delayed law that will allow most of the country to hold provincial elections early next year, officials said Friday." However, China's Xinhua reports that the "presidential council had not approved the provincial election law passed by the parliament, local media reported Friday." Al Jazeera does not say that they have agreed to pass it, Al Jaezeera states that it is passed. AP also states it has passed and, in fact, signed into law by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani: "Firyad Rawndouzi, a Kurdish lawmaker, told The Associated Press that the three-member panel led by President Jalal Talabani had signed the law Friday and asked the parliament 'to solve the minorities problem'." Article 50 issue was never addressed. It is the one that has been called out by everyone from Iraqi Christians to Moqtada al-Sadr and puts minority representation at risk. Nouri al-Maliki did express some public statements and there is said to have been concern on the part of the presidency council. But if it's signed, it's the law. The Parliament can try to fix it but the law is what was signed by Talabani.
Saturday Sam Dagher (New York Times) reported: "Meanwhile, Iraq's presidency council, made up of the president and his two deputies, issued a statement Friday saying the body had ratified a provincial election law that the Parliament passed 10 days ago. This paves the way for local elections . . ." Today Erica Goode and Stephen Farrell (New York Times) declare, "The law, passed on Sept. 24, still requires the approval of a three-member presidential panel led by President Jalal Talabani before it can take effect, clearing the way for elections to be held in most of the country early next year." Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) explained it yesterday, "That evening a petition of 50 parliament members demanded the law back from the presidency council, lawmakers said. They would add the article to the law before the council decided to pass or reject it." It had not been passed. Despite claims to the contrary. Reuters states today, "Iraq's president and vice presidents have formally approved a long-awaited provincial elections law, paving the way for the vote to take place by Jan. 31 next year." And that the council asked the Parliament to restore Article 50 (minority represenations).
And attempting to cite 'progress' in Iraq today, the State Dept ran into a few problems. Reuters reports US Dept Secretary of State John Negroponte's Green Zone based press conference was the site of a mortar attack shortly before the press conference began. Negroponte was the topic of interest at the US State Dept press briefing yesterday held by Deputy spokeperson Robert Wood who delcared of Negroponte's visit, "The Deputy Secretary -- as you know, he was an Ambassador there. He goes from time to time to check on how things are going on the ground in Iraq. Obviously, the SOFA and the strategic framework agreement will come up in the conversations, but he's not necessarilly there to negotiate. But it's not unusual for the Deputy Secretary to go to Iraq." The press pointed out that the treaty had to be in place by December 31st (when the UN mandate authorizing the occupation ends) and that the White House promised the treaty would be completed in July. Wood replied, "No, I understand your point. You know, this is a -- we're talking about a very complex agreement. This is something that many in the Administration have been working hard on. As you know, there's a team from the United States that's there and that's been working hard on these negotiations. But, yeah, the fact that it slipped, you know, these things happen. But it's important that we get a good agreement for both Iraq and the United States -- you know, one that obviously allows us to operate there in a legal framework and also that upholds Iraqi sovereignty. And those are two very important issues for us." Today CBS and AP cite Hoshyar Zebari, Iraq's Foreign Minister, stating that the US and the puppet government are "very close" to finalizing a treaty. Zebari was speaking at the same press conference as Negorponte. Deborah Haynes (Times of London) quotes Zebari stating of the treaty, "This issue needs, I think, some bold political decisions. And we are at that stage. And that's why I suggested that soon you and your colleagues will see hectic political meetings here in Baghdad on this issue to determine the fate of the agreement." Jeffrey Fleishman (Los Angeles Times) adds this perspective, "The negotiations come at critical times for both nations. The emboldened Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, determined to show he is independent of Washington, wants more control over security and is insisting on an American troop withdrawal by the end of 2011. The U.S. is facing a widening financial crisis at home and a public growing wary of the high costs of keeping more than 146,000 soldiers in Iraq."
While the same statements continue to be made, conflicts continue between Turkey and the northern region of Iraq. Monday Ellen Knickmeyer (Washington Post) reported on the air raids Turkey launched Sunday following the deaths of 15 Turkish soldiers. Monday Ibon Villelabeitia (Reuters) reported Turkey continued air strikes. The Turkish Press reports that Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey, declared today that "cross-border operations" would continue. Huriyet quotes him stating, "The sole target of a possible cross-border operation will be the terrorist organization" and that, "The best choice for the regional administration of northern Iraq is to cooperate with us against terrorist elements because the terrorist organization is a cause of regional unrest and tension." Asked about Turkey and the Kurdish PKK on Monday, the State Dept' Robert Wood stated, "Look, the PKK is a terrorist organization. We want to see it go out of business. That's been very clear. And, you know, we've obviously conemned the attack and expressed our concolences to the people of Turkey." In this morning's press briefing, Wood was asked if the US was sharing intelligence with Turkey and he replied, "Well, we do cooperate with the Turks on intelligence with regard to dealing with the PKK. We have good cooperation. We also have good cooperation with Iraqis as well in dealing with some of these issues with regards to the Kurds."
Turning to some of the other reported violence . . .
Bombings?
Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 2 Baghdad car bombings that left five wounded and a Mosul car bombing that claimed 2 lives and left ten people wounded.
Shootings?
Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 1 "shop owner" shot dead in Mosul, 1 "governmental employee" shot dead in Mosul and a "butcher" shot dead in Mosul (with his son left wounded). Reuters notes, "Two minority Christian men were gunned down on Tuesday in northern Mosul."
Corpses?
Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 2 corpses discovered in Baghdad. Reuters notes 2 corpses discovered in Kut.
Today the US military announced: A Multi-National Division -- North Soldier died of wounds sustained from a small-arms fire attack in Mosul, Oct. 7." The announcement bring to 4179 the number of US service members killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war with 3 for the month thus far.
Tonight Dem. presidential nominee Barack Obama and Rep. presidential nominee John McCain debate. Alexander Cockburn (The First Post) observes of last Thursday's debate between the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Senator Joe Biden, and the Republican vice presidential nominee, Governor Sarah Palin, that only Palin has passed the test of the Democratic and Republican candidates: "Palin, despite somewhat excessive folksiness, with 'gosh-darneds' and the like, did look as though she and Todd had spent some time at their kitchen table in the not-too-distan past figuring out how to pay the bills and deciding they couldn't afford health insurance. . . . Alone of the four candidates [Obama, Biden, McCain and herself], she spoke to the fury and fear of Main Street America about the
$700bn bail-out . . . More than once last night, I thought Palin must have been watching re-runs of Reagan's speeches, though decades of deference to Hollywood tycoons made Reagan far more respectful of Wall Street than the Alaskan Governor, who even presumed to introduce the antique phrase 'working class' into the debate."
As noted in yesterday's snapshot, following the New York Times lead on Saturday, Palin has been bringing up Barack Obama's ties to Weather Underground's Bill Ayers. Today on Democracy Now! Amy Goodman lied (it's a lie, the Red Diaper baby damn well knows better), "Obama was eight years old when Ayers was a Weather Underground member." That's how the media's worked it. Obama says it's so it's 'true.' In the debate with Hillary, that was one of the lies regarding Weather Underground that Barack uttered, "And the notion that somehow as a consequence of me knowing somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago, when I was 8 years old, somehow reflects on me and my values doesn't make much sense, George." The press has run with the lie ever since. However, George Stephanopoulos actually asked the question correctly (and that's part of the reason George was attacked by the Cult of Obama), "A gentleman named William Ayers. He was part of the Weather Underground in the 1970s. They bombed the Pentagon, the Capitol, and other buildings. He's never apologized for that." Idiots and liars run with that garbage of eight years old.
Barack was born in August of 1961. Weather Underground is not "Weatherman." Weatherman did the Days of Rage in 1969. Weather Underground emerges with the "Declaration of a State of War" (read by Bernardine Dohrn). You can find a transcription here (as published in Berkeley Tribe, July 31, 1970 and released May 21, 1970). 1970 is when Weather Underground emerges. Prior to that Weatherman existed. 1970 is when the bombings begin and they are not a one-year thing. Barack was prepped for that debate with Hillary, coached to toss out a lie the press could run with and obsesses over: " Look, I'm going to have to respond to this just really quickly, but by Senator Clinton's own vetting standards, I don't think she would make it, since President Clinton pardoned or commuted the sentences of two members of the Weather Underground, which I think is a slightly more significant act." The campaign then prepped all reporters that Bill Clinton had pardoned the two women (there was no pardon) and look for yourself and see who LIED. Did anyone do their own work? No. David Corn, when forced to 'correct' at Mother Jones made a real ass of himself insisting that "commuted" and "pardon" were basically the same thing. No, they are not. But the press went running where Barack told them to do like the good little doggies they are. George Stephanopoulos was correct and most (including Diane Rehm) knew he was correct, it was the 1970s. And yet the liars repeatedly lie (including Diane who's tired ass needs to retire). As Mike pointed out last night, Ben Smith (Politico) can get it right: "On the other hand, Obama's not that young. He started at Columbia University, for instance, in 1981, when their names were certainly in the New York tabloids, which haved always loved the story of upper-middle-class radical cop killers. Kathy Boudin's role in a botched, fatal 1981 Brinks roberry was huge news. Bernardine Dohrn was imprisoned in 1982 for refusing to testify against fellow Weather Underground members. And Ayers' past was hardly a secret in Chicago, where he was regularly quoted as an ex-radical and ex-fugitive."
As Nathaniel Sheppard Jr. explained in "Bernardine Dohrn Gives Up To Authorities in Chicago" (New York Times, December 4, 1980): "Still espousing revolutionary causes, Bernardine Dohrn, the 38-year-old reputed leader of the radical Weather Underground, surrendered to authorities here today, 10 years after going into hiding to avoid Federal and local riot charges. . . . Mr. Ayers was also indicted on Federal charges in connection with the disorders, but the Federal charges against Miss Dohrn, Mr. Ayers and other Weathermen were dropped in 1979 when a court ruled that the Government's evidence had been obtained through illegal telephone wiretaps. . . . An associate of Miss Dohrn said privately that she might have come forward now partly because of fear that her treatment under the administration of Ronald Reagan could be harsher than under the Carter Administration." Joe Boyle (BBC) explains Weather's actions: "From 1970 to 1975 the group bombed police stations and patrol vehicles and court and government buildings. In 1970 there were fatalities - a police officer died from his injuries after a pipe bomb was detonated in a San Francisco police station, while three of the group blew themselves up while building explosives in their New York apartment."
The ever-changing story from Barack. What was the earliest lie? Who knows? One claimed, as Ava and I noted, that all their kids went to school together: "The focus wasn't helped when the Obama campaign attempted to lie that Ayers and Barack were friends because they had children the same age. As The Guardian of London's Daniel Nasaw pointed out Dorhn and Ayers' son Zayd is 30-years-old, Malik is 27-years-old and Chesa Boudin, Kathy Boudin and David Gilbert's son that Ayers and Dorhn raised, is also 27, while Barack and Michelle Obama's daughters 'are 6 and 9, respectively'." Believe it or not, the lie of "kids go to school together" was bought and re-sold by the press without question for months. Geoff Earle (New York Post) quoted Team Obama leader David Axelrod telling CNN that Barack didn't know all this public history. He then repeated the eight-year-old lie. Or maybe, what he's trying to say is Barack doesn't condemn the bombings of the Pentagon and the State Dept which took place after he was eight-years-old? As Elaine pointed out last night, Geoff Earle repeats without question the latest spin. The McCain-Palin campaign issued this statement yesterday:
Does Barack Obama truly expect the American people to believe that he had no idea about his friend's past as the infamous founder of the domestic terror group 'The Weather Underground' or is he just lying? If Obama didn't know in 1995 about the bombings Ayers was responsible for, when did he find out -- because Obama was promoting Ayers' book in 1997, serving on boards with him until 2002, and trading emails and phone calls with him as recently as 2005. If Obama really was unaware of Ayers' radical past, learning the truth doesn't seem to have had any effect on their friendship. Whether Barack Obama is lying to voters about his previous support for higher taxes on the middle class, his votes against funds for American troops in the field or his associations with an unrepentant terrorist, voters are left wondering who Obama is and what he stands for.
Today Athena Jones (NBC) explains, "Reporters pressed Barack Obama's chief strategist David Axelrod on when the senator became aware of William Ayers' radical past during the flight from Asheville, NC to Nashville for tonight's debates. When asked to clarify when it was that Obama learned about Ayers' history of planning bombings to protest the Vietnam War, Axelrod said it was some time after their first meetings but that he did not know the exact moment." Jake Tapper and Sunlen Miller (ABC News' Political Punch) add, "The Alaska governor has been blurring what Axelrod said to make it seem as though Obama was claiming that he didn't know about Ayers' history until recently, which is not what Axelrod said. Not that there's been any clear explanation of this relationship forthcoming from the Obama campaign. So when did Obama find out that Ayers had been a member of an organization the FBI called a 'domestic terrorist' group, and had been for years a fugitive from the law?" On the campaign trail today, Palin again raised the issue. Perry Bacon Jr. (Washington Post) quotes her stating in Jacksonville, Florida, "Now our opponent's campaign is claiming for the first time Barack Obama wasn't aware of Ayers' radical background. He didn't know he launched his own political career in the living room of a dometic terrorist? What's next, claiming he didn't know that two of his biggest supporters were running Fannie Mae? . . . Maybe he thought they were just guys in his Washington neighborhood." ABC News' Political Radar includes the next statement, "And since he got called out on his plans to meet unconditionally with terror state leaders like [Iran's President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad, will he now claim he was unaware of his radical backround? Ladies and gentlemen, this election is about the truthfulness and judgment needed in our next president. John McCain has it and Barack Obama doesn't." The McCain-Palin campaign site is highlighting the issue and clicking here takes you to Obama LIAR Anita Dunn now insisting (CNN transcript) that Barack was seven at the time, seven! What a pack of liars. For more McCain-Palin releases on Barack and Bill, click here and here.
And, in more news for Barack, CBS News' Laura Strickler, Sarah Fitzpatrick and Ariel Bashi reported yesterday:
CBS News has learned that two donors to the Obama campaign that gave a total of $7,722 appear to have made their contributions under fake names that look like they were written by a mouse running across a keyboard: Dahsudhu Hdusahfd of Df, Hawaii with the following employer CZXVC/ZXVZXV and Uadhshgu Hduadh listed as living in Dhff, Florida listed their employer as DASADA/SAFASF. CBS News did not find any records of these last names, towns or employers anywhere else. Newsweek reported two questionable Obama donors over the weekend named "Doodad Pro" and "Good Will". Contributions from the two donors Hdusahfd and Hduadh were made on the same day starting on July 16, 2008. Federal Election Commission (FEC) records show the campaign began refunding the donations as early as August 6, 2008. Despite numerous refunds from the Obama campaign, Hdusahfd still has a record of giving a total of $7500 to Obama which is well over the legal limit for the primary and general election of $4600. Hduadh gave $14,200 but the Obama campaign returned all but $222.00.
Ruth noted the CBS news item last night in her round-up of the presidential campaigns. And Kat pointed to the biggest liar or the most uninformed in the press, Jason Szep of Reuters who claimed Weather Underground "was involved in bombings in the 1960s" -- uh, Szep, what bombings are you referring to? McCain and Obama debate tonight or 'debate'. And the other presidential candidates are shut out of the debate. Cynthia McKinney is the Green Party presidential candidate. Kevin Alexander Gray (Progressive via Some Carolina) writes, "McKinney, who served as a Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives for twelve years, left the Democratic Party last year to join the Greens. In Congress, she had one of the most progressive records. And as a Presidential candidate, she offers up a coherent agenda. In her acceptance speech at the Green Party convention in Chicago on July 12, she denounced what she called 'Democratic Party complicity' in 'war crimes, torture, crimes against the peace' and 'crimes against the Constituion, crimes against the American peopke, and crimes against the global community.' She said, 'Those who delivered us into this mess cannot be trusted to get us out of it.' She told her supporters, 'A Green vote is a peace vote,' and 'A Green vote is a justice vote.'"
Rosa Clemente is Cynthia's running mate. Ralph Nader is the independent presidential candidate and his running mate is Matt Gonzalez. Nader - Gonzalez notes:
Donate $5 to Nader/Gonzalez now.
Why?
To protest the sheer arrogance of the Gallup Organization.
In a recent WSJ/NBC national poll, Ralph Nader pulls 5 percent.
Contrast that to the most recent Gallup national poll, where Nader polls a fraction of one percent.
Why the big difference?
Answer: Gallup, the 800-pound gorilla of the polling world, doesn't list Ralph Nader as one of the Presidential candidates in the primary polling question.
Are you kidding me?
No.
We are not kidding you.
And guess who the Commission on Presidential Debates depends on to do its polling to see which Presidential candidates get to debate before tens of millions of Americans tonight in Nashville?
You guessed it: Gallup.
I called Frank Newport. (pictured above)
Newport is the editor-in-chief at Gallup.
I asked Newport:
Is there an objective standard you use to keep Ralph off your primary polling question?
"No," Newport said.
"We use our internal judgment to decide."
Whoa!
Gallup's "internal judgment" keeps Ralph Nader out of their polling.
So, I tried again.
Any ballpark levels of support Gallup looks to as a threshold?
"No," Newport said.
Again, it was just subject to unidentified "internal judgment criteria."
What a total crock of you know what.
There are some polling agencies -- such as Ipsos/McClatchey and CNN/Opinion Research Corp. -- that include all the major third party candidates.
Not Gallup.
So, we propose two ways to protest Gallup's arrogance in keeping Ralph Nader out of the Gallup polls, thereby denying him the chance of having a chance to debate McCain and Obama.
Protest method number one:
Donate $5, $10, $100 -- whatever you can afford -- up to the legal limit of $2,300 -- to Nader/Gonzalez now.
The stronger we become in October, the more difficult it will be for even Gallup's "internal judgment" to ignore us.
We're in the middle of our October Surprise fundraising drive.
And we need to reach $250,000 by the end of the week.
So, if you haven't donated yet, hit that there contribute button now.
Protest method number two:
Call up Gallup's Frank Newport.
Give him a piece of your mind.
Nader/Gonzalez is on more state ballots (45) than any other independent or third party candidate.
And we're polling five percent and higher in other polls nationwide.
Why is Gallup keeping Ralph Nader out of their polls?
What standards does Gallup use to determine who is included in their Presidential polls?
You can call Newport at: 609-924-9600
Or you can e-mail him directly at: frank_newport@gallup.com
Thank you for your ongoing activism and support.
Onward to November.
Toby Heaps
National Media Coordinator
Though shut out of the corporation's debate between the corporatist candidates, Ralph Nader will be addressing the debate tonight:
News AdvisoryFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: Ryan Mehta, 408-348-0681, rmehta@votenader.org (National HQ)PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE RALPH NADER TO RESPOND TO DEBATES IN WINSTEADWHO: Ralph NaderWHAT: Debate responseWHEN: Tuesday, October 7 from 9:00pm until after the debatesWHERE: Founders Hall Auditorium, Northwestern Community College, Park Place Winsted, CT 06098On Tuesday, October 7 starting at 9:00, consumer advocate and Presidential candidate Ralph Nader will be in Founders Hall Auditorium at Northwestern Community College. After the debates, he will give his response and take question about the debates.
iraq
the new york timesnathaniel sheppard jr.
sam daghererica goodestephen farrell
leila fadelmcclatchy newspapers
jake tapper
deborah haynes
the washington postperry bacon jr.
ellen knickmeyer
alexander cockburn
the los angeles timesjeffrey fleishman
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Monday, October 06, 2008
Music, etc.
Saturday night my latest CD review went up, "Kat's Korner: Aimee Mann ain't smiling." That follows my two from last week "Kat's Korner: Chris Martin's cold play" and "Kat's Korner: Hold Me Down." I am thinking of doing another one soon (possibly this weekend, possibly the week after) and some e-mails indicate people think it will be Amy Winehouse's Back to Black. While I love that CD, the time to review it passed long before I ever heard it. It is a great CD.
The one I am thinking of reviewing is a new CD that came out recently. I was going through C.I.'s packages intending to help out by opening them and clearing up some of the mail C.I. never has time for and I found a CD by an artist I like (and have reviewed before) that I had no idea was even recording a new album. That is the one I would like to review. For those who want to play Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot, I will say that I previously reviewed a best of by the artist.
I did like Aimee Mann's CD and consider it among the year's best. I also loved Augustana. Coldplay left me cold. XY I liked for about three months and then the flaws became evident. The flaws with Coldplay's latest were evident on first listen. I had always planned to wait until it had some sales underneath its belt so no one could whine, "Your mean review hurt the CD!" It really is an awful CD and Chris Martin's lyrics are dead on arrival.
Augustana I had hoped to review so much sooner. If you're looking for a CD to just rock out to, that's the one. They may be one of the few groups today who know how to do that. Live, they are even better. I'm really impressed with the growth they've already shown since the album's release and I would gladly see them live again.
Are you sick of liars? Me too. Jason Szep of Reuters is a big fat liar:
With the pressure on, Palin is targeting Obama's judgment and character in speeches that include the unsubstantiated charge that the Illinois senator has close ties to Bill Ayers, a former member of the 1960s-era militant Weather Underground
The group was involved in bombings in the 1960s, when Obama was 8 years old. Obama met him in the 1990s when first starting his political career in Chicago and the two served on a board together. Obama has said he knows Ayers only slightly and has denounced his actions with the Weather Underground.
"Involved in bombings in the 1960s"? When does Szep think Weather Underground was active?
C.I. went over this lie in the snapshot today:
In June of 1970, they bombed an NYC police station. The Pentagon's women's bathroom was bombed in the spring of 1972. They smuggle Timothy Leary (after the prison break) out of the country in September 1970. In 1974 alone, they've got at least five bombings including the Department of Health, Education and Welfare in San Francisco (other targes included the AG's office in California and Gulf Oil). Obama wasn't eight-years-old in 1974. 1975 is when they bomb the US State Department, a bank in NYC, and another corporation (Kennecott?). He wasn't eight-years-old in 1975. He wasn't eight-years-old during the bank robbery (when Weather was back in the news even though it wasn't a Weather action), he was in college, just like he was when Bernardine and Bill turned themselves in. Barack declares "I was eight-years-old" and no one must question the Christ-child? I don't think so. I don't play stupid. Now Diane Rehm did last Friday, embarrassing herself repeating the lie, "He was eight years old!" Diane Rehm damn well knows that Weather Underground was not active for only one year. Considering that the bombing wave doesn't even start when Barack's eight-years-old, this lie needs to stop. Barack latches onto it because it's the easy out for him. It's not reality. And if Diane Rehm, for example, really can't remember those days, then it's time to retire. Seriously, the mind is gone if Diane Rehm honestly believes that Barack Obama was just eight-years-old throughout Weather Underground's long history.
Now show me the "1960s" bombings, Szep? I'm so sick of the lies and the liars.
Really, is there a reason that the press can't do their basic job?
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Monday, October 6, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, cholera continues in Iraq, elections illustrate new problems and CBS News' Laura Strickler makes a fool out of herself and reveals that she struggles with basic math (adding and subtracting) today.
Starting with diplomatic news, Corinne Reilly and Yassem Taha (McClatchy) reported Sunday that a visit to Bagdady ("one-day stop") today by Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Foreign Minister of Egypt "was the first visit to Iraq in nearly 20 years by a high-ranking Egyptian delegation." Mohammed Abbas(Reuters) noted that the minister "promised to reopen an embassy in Baghdad soon". However, it wasn't apparently just a 'friengly' visit. AFP reports, "Egyptian Oil Minister Sameh Fahmi was in Baghdad on Sunday during a surpise visit with Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit" and "Iraq said is has called on Egypt to collaborate in rebuilding the country's oil industry after Cairo announced it was ready to re-establish a diplmatic mission in Baghdad." AFP also quotes Nouri al-Maliki, puppet of the occupation, asking Egyptian companies/corporations "to participate in construction projects and help . . . with their expertise and experience." CNN notes, "In July 2005, militants kidnapped Egypt's ambassador, Ihab al-Sherif, from a Baghdad street and killed him." Today Mary Beth Sheridan (Washington Post) reports Hani Khilaf, ambassadot for the Arab League, visited Baghdad and Sheridan notes, "His arrival ended an embarrassing gap in representation by the Arab League, which groups 21 predominantly Arabic-speaking nations and the Palestinian Authority. The previous ambassador, Mokhtar Lamani, wrote a scathing article after he quit about 'the contrast between the enormous suffering I saw daily in Baghdad and the persistent indifference evident in the Arab League meetings in Cairo'." China's Xinhua quotes Hani Khallaf stating "We need a more active Arab role in Iraq" and notes, "There are three Arab embassies in Baghdad, namely those of Lebanon, Yemen and the Palestinians, and six more Arab countries have the intention to resume diplomatic mission in Iraq, said the AL envoy." Deborah Haynes (Times of London -- in a piece labeled "Analysis") offers, "After almost three decades of war and international isolation, Iraq is crying out for foreign investment and knowledge. A range of state-owned industries, from oil and gas to agriculture and steel, are opening up like never before." Yeah, it's a tag sale in Iraq as the puppet is eager to privatize the people's industries and sell them off to foreign corporations. It's very rare for new markets to emerge in this age of globalization so how very fortunate (sarcasm) that the Iraq War just happened and just happened to result in a puppet leader so willing to oversee the tag sale on Iraqi assets. Meanwhile not all neighbors are as friendly. Qassim Abdul-Zahra (AP) reports Iraq's Parliamentary Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani was flying to Tehran "but the plane was turned away after airport officials were informed dignitaries were on board" and that "Iraqi media earlier had reported that al-Mashhadani was leading a parliamentary delegation on an official visit to mainly Shiite Iran." Also Poland is now officially out of Iraq having ended it's military mission on Saturday.
From diplomacy to elections, Alissa J. Rubin and Sam Dagher (New York Times) note that signs are going up in Salahuddin Province and that a Tikrit meet up with Amar al-Hakim (Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq) and the province's Dept Governor Abdullah Jabarah was televised. Tina Susman (Los Angeles Times) points out, "Even if provincial elections, considered key to balancing power among Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds and others, take place by early next year, the parties now in power probably will come out on top again. That's because of name recognition and their appeal to religious voters." Upbeat estimates of provincial elections insist they will take place in late January at the earliest. That's a big if. The census that was supposed to have taken place never did. The Parliament used the lack of the census to do away with Article 50 which provided seats and representation for minority groups. Nouri al-Maliki waited until after Parliament passed their bill to object to that omission (indicating he was grandstanding and not concerned). The bill went to the three-member presidency council which passed it with the head of the council, Iraq President Jalal Talabani, signing it into law last week. That's where the process stands currently and, though there are estimates, there has been no date set for provincial elections. Qassim Abdul-Zahra (AP) notes Faraj al-Haidari ("independent electoral commission") is hopeful that the elections can take place by January 31st which is the "legal deadline". Elections will not take place in oil-rich Kirkuk but that city is not the only one that will not be voting in provincial elections. Three provinces in the Kurdistan region will not be participating. The three provinces not included are Arbil Province, Dohuk Province and Sulaimaniyah Province. The UN's Secretary-General's Special Representative for Iraq, Staffan de Mistura has stated, "Article 50 is a strong indication Iraq is a nation ready to protect the political rights of minorities as founded in the Constitution. I was surprised and disappointed that Article 50 was not included in the provincial election law. . . . Article 50 has the backing of minority groups, political blocs and UNAMI [UN Assistance Mission for Iraq] and should now be reinstated into the legislation as soon as possible so minorities can participate in upcoming elections to be held sometime before January 31 2009." de Mistura is calling for Article 50 to be reinstated by October 16th. [Audio here at UN News Centre page and a shorter UN Radio report by Donn Bobb here.]
United Nations Radio's Reem Abaza interviewed Said Arikat (UNAMI) about Article 50 (link has text and audio):
ABAZA: So what is UNAMI urging or what is UNAMI asking right now?ARIKAT: We are urging that upon the return of the legislators, the Iraqi Council of Representatives from their Eid al-Fitr holiday that they immediately reintroduce Article 50 into the new election law. So that is what we are urging. The SRSG said that UNAMI in fact shows the concern of all those that expressed the concern such as the Iraqi Prime Minister and so on and calls on all the political blocs in Iraq to reintroduce Article 50 to the law. We are urging that and we are urging that this be done immediately before October 15 so when the independent Electoral High Election Commission convenes and begins accepting nominations. So we are urging then to do so before 15 October. ABAZA: Have you received any reaction from the government or the parliament regarding your position and the possibility of maybe amending or reinserting this article back?ARIKAT: Well, certainly UNAMI has been quite active and quite active and quite busy meeting all different political blocs. I think there is consensus in Iraq that minority rights have to be protected. So I think everybody has a stake in seeing this article reintegrated. We hope that it will find resonance among all the different political blocs and they act immediately upon their return.
Iraqi women are not covered in Article 50. They are, however, running for office. Or were planning to. Kim Game (AP) reports on a teacher who was running until she found out "her name, not just her party" would be listed on the ballot and explains "The change to a so-called open list has scared some qualified Iraqis from running, particularly women. Activists are worried there won't be enough women to meet the 25 percent threshold, or that the parties will just find women to act as figureheads to fill the quota. Said Arikat, a spokesman for the U.N. mission in Iraq, noted that 'some statistics show that when countries move from closed to open lists, women don't fare as well'." The election also raises issues for the refuees -- internal and external. The Brookings Institute's Elizabeth Ferris explores that issue:
Despite the plethora of media covering triumphant Iraqi voters raising ink-stained fingers in the 2005 elections, not all Iraqis bought into the process. Key political groups boycotted the vote and IDPs were not able to make their voices heard. Interestingly though, arrangements were made so that Iraqis living outside the country could register and vote -- and apparently they did so in large numbers. This year the situation has been reversed: those living outside the country are not allowed to vote while provisions have been made for internally displaced Iraqis (those displaced by the violence after April 2003) to participate. Iraqis overseas -- particularly those displaced since the start of the war -- should be able to vote in the upcoming elections. And IDPs should be encouraged to register and to turn out to vote. While mechanisms are in place this time around to ensure IDP voting rights, the Wall Street Journal reports that only 100,000 IDPs have registered to vote in the provincial elections while other sources put the figure even lower. Participation of Iraq's refugees and IDPs in the provincial elections is critical to a legitimate electoral process, national reconciliation, and regional stability. Many of the Iraqi refugees currently living in harsh conditions in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey, and the Gulf were displaced because of their religious or political beliefs or because they favored a secular Iraq. To exclude these Iraqis from the process is to let the militias' efforts to rid the country of secularists, intellectuals, Catholics, Yezidis, and many other minority groups win. How IDPs' votes are counted -- or actually where they are counted -- is another key issue in the upcoming elections.
4.7 million is the estimate by the UNHCR for the number of Iraqi refugees. The refugee crisis is very real and it is the largest in the world. al-Maliki could address it but that would be like expecting him to address the lack of potable water in Iraq, right? Instead of addressing it, do like he does with the decaying hospitals -- don't spend any money on new equipments (or repairing elevators so that they actual work), just splash a new coat of paint on the outside and say, "Renovations completed!" The puppet government doesn't care about reality, just how they can manipulate public perception. The Myth of the Great Return gave them four to six weeks of good press -- based on complete and utter lies, but it was good press while it lasted. So now it's apparently time to roll out that wave of Operation Happy Talk again. It's behind the supplying of Iraqi oil to Jordan which has been used as a leverage to cajole Jordan into sending some Iraqi refugees home. The United Nations and the International Red Cross continue to warn against Iraqis returning due to the continued violence. But it's such good p.r. for the puppet government, how can they resist? Sunday, Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) examined a camp for internal refugees in Najaf which was being shut down on orders of the Ministry of Displacement and Migration. Now when the ministry tasked with helping the refugees orders a camp shut down, one would assume it is because housing has been found; however, no housing is being provided. The refugees are being told to return to the areas they left -- left due to violence, death threats, the murder of family members. But the Ministry has decied that these are "fake camps" and that they must be shut down. Tom A. Peter (Christian Science Monitor) reports on Baghdad's Johara Hotel which was, at the start of the illegal war, a place "for freelance reporters, aid workers and activists" but now houses Iraqis "who for one reason or another have been driven from their homes and are still unable to return". Peter explains, "The refugees, predominately from different neighborhoods within Baghdad that are less stable than Karada, represent Sunni, Shiite, and Kurd. Johara says he's never had a problem with ethnic tensions among his guests. His major concern about the refugees is whether they'll continue to make rent every month. While he usually manages to collect, he occasionally has to reduce rates by the equivalent of a few dollars per night." Tina Susman (Los Angeles Times) examines the Shakir family who are planning to leave as omany others of have and the Shakirs will also contribute to what is known as the "brain drain" when they leave -- educated technocrats, doctors, etc. The violence is too much for the family and the father explains, "There is nobody upholding justice here. You live your life according to chance. Anyone can do anything."
Nothing's been done by the puppet government to fix the water or the electricity so it's not surprising people continue to leave (Susman notes over 7,000 more people left Iraq than returned over the summer). al-Maliki sits on billions and refuses to spend it. He stockpiles it and when the puppet is ejected from office, there's a good chance he'll be fleeing with a great deal of the money -- possibly to England where so many who have stolen from Iraq's wealth move? While he sits on the money, cholera outbreaks become a yearly event. WHO did an update at the end of last month (Sept. 29th) and noted that 314 cases had been confirmed, five deaths that were verified and nine provinces were effected. The outbreak isn't over and WHO notes: "Although the outbreak this year appears to be less intense then that of 2007, further waves are still possible. It is therefore too early to consdier the epdemic to be under control. In addition, long-term inadequacies in the area of water and sanitation remain of immediate concern and cholera outbreaks will recur in Iraq until access to safe water and proper sanitation is ensured for all people." Those statements may shock some considering a press conference last month; however, that is the postion WHO is supposed to take. IRIN updates the figures today noting that 418 cases have been confirmed and that six deaths have been verified with 10 provinces effected by the outbreak. Irin quotes Sheik Jawad Kadhim Diwan of Qadissiyah Province explaining that the people in his areas have to utilize the river water because that is all they have, "We call upon the government and the presidential council to save the lives of these people by supplying us with safe drinking water, and to start infrastructure projects as a matter of urgency."
Turning to the US presidential race, Saturday Scott Shane (New York Times) reported some on Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's relationship to Weather Underground member Bill Ayers. Governor Sarah Palin, Republican vice presidential candidate, began noting the relationship following the publication of the story (as did CNN all day Saturday). Laura Strickler of CBS News makes an ASS of herself -- and unlike past media liars on this topic, Strickler isn't hiding a relationship with Weather herself. She is just grossly uninformed as she repeats the lie: "The senator has repeatedly noted that when Ayers committed his domestic acts of terrorism forty years ago, Obama was eight years old." She never questions it. As noted here (and at Third), I know Bill and Bernardine. I'm not in the mood for a press that still can't get their facts right. I think we last dealt with the topic in April and we're just going to cut and paste the points made then:
I'm not sure why people keep repeating that lie. Weather Underground was not a one-year organization. Obama was born in 1961. Weather was active throughout Nixon's presidency (and after) and Bernardine and Bill turned themselves in when Obama was in college. When they turned themselves in, it was front page news, the lead on the evening news broadcasts. It's a nice little lie on Obama's part that what happened happened when he was eight-years-old. But it's a lie none the less and people need to stop repeating it. Myself, I don't include the 1981 Brinks robbery as a Weather action but that's me. Many others do include it as such. (It was actually an action by the Black Liberation Army.) By that time, and news coverage of it certainly saw it as a Weather action since it involved members of the Weather Underground, Obama was in college. What is this nonsense that he was eight-years-old. If you include it (and, again I don't), then Weather was responsible for the deaths of three people (a security guard and two police officers). In June of 1970, they bombed an NYC police station. The Pentagon's women's bathroom was bombed in the spring of 1972. They smuggle Timothy Leary (after the prison break) out of the country in September 1970. In 1974 alone, they've got at least five bombings including the Department of Health, Education and Welfare in San Francisco (other targes included the AG's office in California and Gulf Oil). Obama wasn't eight-years-old in 1974. 1975 is when they bomb the US State Department, a bank in NYC, and another corporation (Kennecott?). He wasn't eight-years-old in 1975. He wasn't eight-years-old during the bank robbery (when Weather was back in the news even though it wasn't a Weather action), he was in college, just like he was when Bernardine and Bill turned themselves in. Barack declares "I was eight-years-old" and no one must question the Christ-child? I don't think so. I don't play stupid. Now Diane Rehm did last Friday, embarrassing herself repeating the lie, "He was eight years old!" Diane Rehm damn well knows that Weather Underground was not active for only one year. Considering that the bombing wave doesn't even start when Barack's eight-years-old, this lie needs to stop. Barack latches onto it because it's the easy out for him. It's not reality. And if Diane Rehm, for example, really can't remember those days, then it's time to retire. Seriously, the mind is gone if Diane Rehm honestly believes that Barack Obama was just eight-years-old throughout Weather Underground's long history. It's just like the issue of pardons and commuted sentences. He says something and the press runs with it. They don't bother to check out. They just start repeating it. That's embarrassing and more indicative of the failures of our modern press than anything else. An argument can be made with their known activities that they were more active from 1973-1975 than at any time in their history and Barack Obama was not eight-years-old then. Considering that the grandmother who raised him was a vice-president in a bank, it's highly unlikely that the bank bombings wouldn't have been the topic of conversation in his grandparents' home while Barack was growing up. If you're the child of a police officer and a police officer is shot anywhere in the US, it gets discussed. Also true of a fire fighter. This is nonsense and he gets away with it because we don't have a working press. We have a group of cheerleaders for Obama (and include Diane Rehm in that, she's far from fair as anyone listening can quickly determine -- she has chosen sides in the Democratic primary) trying to pass themselves off as the press. That's why, despite the fact that Bill Clinton did not pardon Susan Rosenberg and Linda Evans, the press went with that lie over and over and still continues to go with it. It's shameful. The actions did not occur when he was eight-years-old and anyone writing that or stating that is lying. It's that simple. Your historical ignorance is no excuse for your failure to check out the facts. Yeah, if you have the memory of pin cushion, doing your job may entail some work. Too damn bad, that's your job. Try actually doing it for a change.
The facts are the facts and, no Barack, wasn't 8-years-old. Barack lied again today and Laura, you should have called him on it:
"He's a professor at the University of Chicago - ah, Illinois, teaches education, and he engaged in these despicable acts 40 years ago when I was 8 years old. I served on a board with him. And so now they're trying to use this as guilt by association, and as you said, they've explicitly stated that what they want to do is to change the topic because they don't want to talk about the economy and the failed policies of the last eight years."
"Despicable acts 40 years ago"? He was 8-years-old in 1975? I mean, pick your damn year and figure out when he was 8-years-old. Equally true is when the British press were first asking early in the primaries, the Obama campaign claimed that Barack and Michelle's daughters went to school with Dohrn and Ayers' children -- a BOLD FACED LIE. The domestic press doesn't care to note the ever changing story. Just like they didn't bat an eye when Barack LIED during the debate with Hillary and claimed that Bill pardoned two members of Weather.
Now if he was really so uninvolved with Bill Ayers, pay attention, how did he happen to tell that lie in the debate? You only prep -- with factoids -- on the subjects you are vulnerable on. The uproar from the lunatics at FAIR indicates that the question of his relationship with Bill Ayers was so off-the-wall that no one would have asked it. So if that's the case, why was Barack prepped with a LIE to use for distraction?
Ralph Nader is the independent presidential candidate. Team Nader notes:
Drop $10 on Nader/Gonzalez now.
Why?
For the first time since 2004, the Dow Jones Industrials this morning dropped below 10,000.
The Dow is going down.
While Nader/Gonzalez is movin' on up.
Everything is in place for an October surprise.
Ralph is barnstorming the country -- this week in his home state of Connecticut and throughout New England.
(Fox News reports that a crowd of 2,000 showed up to hear Ralph at the University of Vermont yesterday.)
The MOB (McCain/Obama/Bush) were exposed last week like never before for the whole country to see.
As they all jumped aboard the Wall Street Bailout Express.
While Nader/Gonzalez stood opposed.
And stand opposed.
(Nader/Gonzalez would have prohibited Wall Street's "sustained orgy of excess and reckless behavior" -- as Richard Fisher, the president of the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank put it.)
The Nader/Gonzalez vast Get Out of the Vote Network is on the ground and cranking (Stay tuned for the details tomorrow.)
So, the choice on November 4 is clear.
The Corporate Elite.
Versus Main Street.
All we need is an October surprise.
An American awakening.
With the American people standing with the one candidate who has stood with them throughout his 40 year career.
Ralph Nader.
So, donate $10 now to the Nader/Gonzalez October Surprise Fund.
We're ready for an October surprise.
Are you?
Onward to November
iraq
yassem tahamcclatchy newspaperscorinne reilly
the new york timesalissa j. rubin
sam dagher
the los angeles timestina susmanmcclatchy newspapersleila fadel
elizabeth ferristom a. peterthe christian science monitor
The one I am thinking of reviewing is a new CD that came out recently. I was going through C.I.'s packages intending to help out by opening them and clearing up some of the mail C.I. never has time for and I found a CD by an artist I like (and have reviewed before) that I had no idea was even recording a new album. That is the one I would like to review. For those who want to play Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot, I will say that I previously reviewed a best of by the artist.
I did like Aimee Mann's CD and consider it among the year's best. I also loved Augustana. Coldplay left me cold. XY I liked for about three months and then the flaws became evident. The flaws with Coldplay's latest were evident on first listen. I had always planned to wait until it had some sales underneath its belt so no one could whine, "Your mean review hurt the CD!" It really is an awful CD and Chris Martin's lyrics are dead on arrival.
Augustana I had hoped to review so much sooner. If you're looking for a CD to just rock out to, that's the one. They may be one of the few groups today who know how to do that. Live, they are even better. I'm really impressed with the growth they've already shown since the album's release and I would gladly see them live again.
Are you sick of liars? Me too. Jason Szep of Reuters is a big fat liar:
With the pressure on, Palin is targeting Obama's judgment and character in speeches that include the unsubstantiated charge that the Illinois senator has close ties to Bill Ayers, a former member of the 1960s-era militant Weather Underground
The group was involved in bombings in the 1960s, when Obama was 8 years old. Obama met him in the 1990s when first starting his political career in Chicago and the two served on a board together. Obama has said he knows Ayers only slightly and has denounced his actions with the Weather Underground.
"Involved in bombings in the 1960s"? When does Szep think Weather Underground was active?
C.I. went over this lie in the snapshot today:
In June of 1970, they bombed an NYC police station. The Pentagon's women's bathroom was bombed in the spring of 1972. They smuggle Timothy Leary (after the prison break) out of the country in September 1970. In 1974 alone, they've got at least five bombings including the Department of Health, Education and Welfare in San Francisco (other targes included the AG's office in California and Gulf Oil). Obama wasn't eight-years-old in 1974. 1975 is when they bomb the US State Department, a bank in NYC, and another corporation (Kennecott?). He wasn't eight-years-old in 1975. He wasn't eight-years-old during the bank robbery (when Weather was back in the news even though it wasn't a Weather action), he was in college, just like he was when Bernardine and Bill turned themselves in. Barack declares "I was eight-years-old" and no one must question the Christ-child? I don't think so. I don't play stupid. Now Diane Rehm did last Friday, embarrassing herself repeating the lie, "He was eight years old!" Diane Rehm damn well knows that Weather Underground was not active for only one year. Considering that the bombing wave doesn't even start when Barack's eight-years-old, this lie needs to stop. Barack latches onto it because it's the easy out for him. It's not reality. And if Diane Rehm, for example, really can't remember those days, then it's time to retire. Seriously, the mind is gone if Diane Rehm honestly believes that Barack Obama was just eight-years-old throughout Weather Underground's long history.
Now show me the "1960s" bombings, Szep? I'm so sick of the lies and the liars.
Really, is there a reason that the press can't do their basic job?
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Monday, October 6, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, cholera continues in Iraq, elections illustrate new problems and CBS News' Laura Strickler makes a fool out of herself and reveals that she struggles with basic math (adding and subtracting) today.
Starting with diplomatic news, Corinne Reilly and Yassem Taha (McClatchy) reported Sunday that a visit to Bagdady ("one-day stop") today by Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Foreign Minister of Egypt "was the first visit to Iraq in nearly 20 years by a high-ranking Egyptian delegation." Mohammed Abbas(Reuters) noted that the minister "promised to reopen an embassy in Baghdad soon". However, it wasn't apparently just a 'friengly' visit. AFP reports, "Egyptian Oil Minister Sameh Fahmi was in Baghdad on Sunday during a surpise visit with Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit" and "Iraq said is has called on Egypt to collaborate in rebuilding the country's oil industry after Cairo announced it was ready to re-establish a diplmatic mission in Baghdad." AFP also quotes Nouri al-Maliki, puppet of the occupation, asking Egyptian companies/corporations "to participate in construction projects and help . . . with their expertise and experience." CNN notes, "In July 2005, militants kidnapped Egypt's ambassador, Ihab al-Sherif, from a Baghdad street and killed him." Today Mary Beth Sheridan (Washington Post) reports Hani Khilaf, ambassadot for the Arab League, visited Baghdad and Sheridan notes, "His arrival ended an embarrassing gap in representation by the Arab League, which groups 21 predominantly Arabic-speaking nations and the Palestinian Authority. The previous ambassador, Mokhtar Lamani, wrote a scathing article after he quit about 'the contrast between the enormous suffering I saw daily in Baghdad and the persistent indifference evident in the Arab League meetings in Cairo'." China's Xinhua quotes Hani Khallaf stating "We need a more active Arab role in Iraq" and notes, "There are three Arab embassies in Baghdad, namely those of Lebanon, Yemen and the Palestinians, and six more Arab countries have the intention to resume diplomatic mission in Iraq, said the AL envoy." Deborah Haynes (Times of London -- in a piece labeled "Analysis") offers, "After almost three decades of war and international isolation, Iraq is crying out for foreign investment and knowledge. A range of state-owned industries, from oil and gas to agriculture and steel, are opening up like never before." Yeah, it's a tag sale in Iraq as the puppet is eager to privatize the people's industries and sell them off to foreign corporations. It's very rare for new markets to emerge in this age of globalization so how very fortunate (sarcasm) that the Iraq War just happened and just happened to result in a puppet leader so willing to oversee the tag sale on Iraqi assets. Meanwhile not all neighbors are as friendly. Qassim Abdul-Zahra (AP) reports Iraq's Parliamentary Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani was flying to Tehran "but the plane was turned away after airport officials were informed dignitaries were on board" and that "Iraqi media earlier had reported that al-Mashhadani was leading a parliamentary delegation on an official visit to mainly Shiite Iran." Also Poland is now officially out of Iraq having ended it's military mission on Saturday.
From diplomacy to elections, Alissa J. Rubin and Sam Dagher (New York Times) note that signs are going up in Salahuddin Province and that a Tikrit meet up with Amar al-Hakim (Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq) and the province's Dept Governor Abdullah Jabarah was televised. Tina Susman (Los Angeles Times) points out, "Even if provincial elections, considered key to balancing power among Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds and others, take place by early next year, the parties now in power probably will come out on top again. That's because of name recognition and their appeal to religious voters." Upbeat estimates of provincial elections insist they will take place in late January at the earliest. That's a big if. The census that was supposed to have taken place never did. The Parliament used the lack of the census to do away with Article 50 which provided seats and representation for minority groups. Nouri al-Maliki waited until after Parliament passed their bill to object to that omission (indicating he was grandstanding and not concerned). The bill went to the three-member presidency council which passed it with the head of the council, Iraq President Jalal Talabani, signing it into law last week. That's where the process stands currently and, though there are estimates, there has been no date set for provincial elections. Qassim Abdul-Zahra (AP) notes Faraj al-Haidari ("independent electoral commission") is hopeful that the elections can take place by January 31st which is the "legal deadline". Elections will not take place in oil-rich Kirkuk but that city is not the only one that will not be voting in provincial elections. Three provinces in the Kurdistan region will not be participating. The three provinces not included are Arbil Province, Dohuk Province and Sulaimaniyah Province. The UN's Secretary-General's Special Representative for Iraq, Staffan de Mistura has stated, "Article 50 is a strong indication Iraq is a nation ready to protect the political rights of minorities as founded in the Constitution. I was surprised and disappointed that Article 50 was not included in the provincial election law. . . . Article 50 has the backing of minority groups, political blocs and UNAMI [UN Assistance Mission for Iraq] and should now be reinstated into the legislation as soon as possible so minorities can participate in upcoming elections to be held sometime before January 31 2009." de Mistura is calling for Article 50 to be reinstated by October 16th. [Audio here at UN News Centre page and a shorter UN Radio report by Donn Bobb here.]
United Nations Radio's Reem Abaza interviewed Said Arikat (UNAMI) about Article 50 (link has text and audio):
ABAZA: So what is UNAMI urging or what is UNAMI asking right now?ARIKAT: We are urging that upon the return of the legislators, the Iraqi Council of Representatives from their Eid al-Fitr holiday that they immediately reintroduce Article 50 into the new election law. So that is what we are urging. The SRSG said that UNAMI in fact shows the concern of all those that expressed the concern such as the Iraqi Prime Minister and so on and calls on all the political blocs in Iraq to reintroduce Article 50 to the law. We are urging that and we are urging that this be done immediately before October 15 so when the independent Electoral High Election Commission convenes and begins accepting nominations. So we are urging then to do so before 15 October. ABAZA: Have you received any reaction from the government or the parliament regarding your position and the possibility of maybe amending or reinserting this article back?ARIKAT: Well, certainly UNAMI has been quite active and quite active and quite busy meeting all different political blocs. I think there is consensus in Iraq that minority rights have to be protected. So I think everybody has a stake in seeing this article reintegrated. We hope that it will find resonance among all the different political blocs and they act immediately upon their return.
Iraqi women are not covered in Article 50. They are, however, running for office. Or were planning to. Kim Game (AP) reports on a teacher who was running until she found out "her name, not just her party" would be listed on the ballot and explains "The change to a so-called open list has scared some qualified Iraqis from running, particularly women. Activists are worried there won't be enough women to meet the 25 percent threshold, or that the parties will just find women to act as figureheads to fill the quota. Said Arikat, a spokesman for the U.N. mission in Iraq, noted that 'some statistics show that when countries move from closed to open lists, women don't fare as well'." The election also raises issues for the refuees -- internal and external. The Brookings Institute's Elizabeth Ferris explores that issue:
Despite the plethora of media covering triumphant Iraqi voters raising ink-stained fingers in the 2005 elections, not all Iraqis bought into the process. Key political groups boycotted the vote and IDPs were not able to make their voices heard. Interestingly though, arrangements were made so that Iraqis living outside the country could register and vote -- and apparently they did so in large numbers. This year the situation has been reversed: those living outside the country are not allowed to vote while provisions have been made for internally displaced Iraqis (those displaced by the violence after April 2003) to participate. Iraqis overseas -- particularly those displaced since the start of the war -- should be able to vote in the upcoming elections. And IDPs should be encouraged to register and to turn out to vote. While mechanisms are in place this time around to ensure IDP voting rights, the Wall Street Journal reports that only 100,000 IDPs have registered to vote in the provincial elections while other sources put the figure even lower. Participation of Iraq's refugees and IDPs in the provincial elections is critical to a legitimate electoral process, national reconciliation, and regional stability. Many of the Iraqi refugees currently living in harsh conditions in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey, and the Gulf were displaced because of their religious or political beliefs or because they favored a secular Iraq. To exclude these Iraqis from the process is to let the militias' efforts to rid the country of secularists, intellectuals, Catholics, Yezidis, and many other minority groups win. How IDPs' votes are counted -- or actually where they are counted -- is another key issue in the upcoming elections.
4.7 million is the estimate by the UNHCR for the number of Iraqi refugees. The refugee crisis is very real and it is the largest in the world. al-Maliki could address it but that would be like expecting him to address the lack of potable water in Iraq, right? Instead of addressing it, do like he does with the decaying hospitals -- don't spend any money on new equipments (or repairing elevators so that they actual work), just splash a new coat of paint on the outside and say, "Renovations completed!" The puppet government doesn't care about reality, just how they can manipulate public perception. The Myth of the Great Return gave them four to six weeks of good press -- based on complete and utter lies, but it was good press while it lasted. So now it's apparently time to roll out that wave of Operation Happy Talk again. It's behind the supplying of Iraqi oil to Jordan which has been used as a leverage to cajole Jordan into sending some Iraqi refugees home. The United Nations and the International Red Cross continue to warn against Iraqis returning due to the continued violence. But it's such good p.r. for the puppet government, how can they resist? Sunday, Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) examined a camp for internal refugees in Najaf which was being shut down on orders of the Ministry of Displacement and Migration. Now when the ministry tasked with helping the refugees orders a camp shut down, one would assume it is because housing has been found; however, no housing is being provided. The refugees are being told to return to the areas they left -- left due to violence, death threats, the murder of family members. But the Ministry has decied that these are "fake camps" and that they must be shut down. Tom A. Peter (Christian Science Monitor) reports on Baghdad's Johara Hotel which was, at the start of the illegal war, a place "for freelance reporters, aid workers and activists" but now houses Iraqis "who for one reason or another have been driven from their homes and are still unable to return". Peter explains, "The refugees, predominately from different neighborhoods within Baghdad that are less stable than Karada, represent Sunni, Shiite, and Kurd. Johara says he's never had a problem with ethnic tensions among his guests. His major concern about the refugees is whether they'll continue to make rent every month. While he usually manages to collect, he occasionally has to reduce rates by the equivalent of a few dollars per night." Tina Susman (Los Angeles Times) examines the Shakir family who are planning to leave as omany others of have and the Shakirs will also contribute to what is known as the "brain drain" when they leave -- educated technocrats, doctors, etc. The violence is too much for the family and the father explains, "There is nobody upholding justice here. You live your life according to chance. Anyone can do anything."
Nothing's been done by the puppet government to fix the water or the electricity so it's not surprising people continue to leave (Susman notes over 7,000 more people left Iraq than returned over the summer). al-Maliki sits on billions and refuses to spend it. He stockpiles it and when the puppet is ejected from office, there's a good chance he'll be fleeing with a great deal of the money -- possibly to England where so many who have stolen from Iraq's wealth move? While he sits on the money, cholera outbreaks become a yearly event. WHO did an update at the end of last month (Sept. 29th) and noted that 314 cases had been confirmed, five deaths that were verified and nine provinces were effected. The outbreak isn't over and WHO notes: "Although the outbreak this year appears to be less intense then that of 2007, further waves are still possible. It is therefore too early to consdier the epdemic to be under control. In addition, long-term inadequacies in the area of water and sanitation remain of immediate concern and cholera outbreaks will recur in Iraq until access to safe water and proper sanitation is ensured for all people." Those statements may shock some considering a press conference last month; however, that is the postion WHO is supposed to take. IRIN updates the figures today noting that 418 cases have been confirmed and that six deaths have been verified with 10 provinces effected by the outbreak. Irin quotes Sheik Jawad Kadhim Diwan of Qadissiyah Province explaining that the people in his areas have to utilize the river water because that is all they have, "We call upon the government and the presidential council to save the lives of these people by supplying us with safe drinking water, and to start infrastructure projects as a matter of urgency."
Turning to the US presidential race, Saturday Scott Shane (New York Times) reported some on Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's relationship to Weather Underground member Bill Ayers. Governor Sarah Palin, Republican vice presidential candidate, began noting the relationship following the publication of the story (as did CNN all day Saturday). Laura Strickler of CBS News makes an ASS of herself -- and unlike past media liars on this topic, Strickler isn't hiding a relationship with Weather herself. She is just grossly uninformed as she repeats the lie: "The senator has repeatedly noted that when Ayers committed his domestic acts of terrorism forty years ago, Obama was eight years old." She never questions it. As noted here (and at Third), I know Bill and Bernardine. I'm not in the mood for a press that still can't get their facts right. I think we last dealt with the topic in April and we're just going to cut and paste the points made then:
I'm not sure why people keep repeating that lie. Weather Underground was not a one-year organization. Obama was born in 1961. Weather was active throughout Nixon's presidency (and after) and Bernardine and Bill turned themselves in when Obama was in college. When they turned themselves in, it was front page news, the lead on the evening news broadcasts. It's a nice little lie on Obama's part that what happened happened when he was eight-years-old. But it's a lie none the less and people need to stop repeating it. Myself, I don't include the 1981 Brinks robbery as a Weather action but that's me. Many others do include it as such. (It was actually an action by the Black Liberation Army.) By that time, and news coverage of it certainly saw it as a Weather action since it involved members of the Weather Underground, Obama was in college. What is this nonsense that he was eight-years-old. If you include it (and, again I don't), then Weather was responsible for the deaths of three people (a security guard and two police officers). In June of 1970, they bombed an NYC police station. The Pentagon's women's bathroom was bombed in the spring of 1972. They smuggle Timothy Leary (after the prison break) out of the country in September 1970. In 1974 alone, they've got at least five bombings including the Department of Health, Education and Welfare in San Francisco (other targes included the AG's office in California and Gulf Oil). Obama wasn't eight-years-old in 1974. 1975 is when they bomb the US State Department, a bank in NYC, and another corporation (Kennecott?). He wasn't eight-years-old in 1975. He wasn't eight-years-old during the bank robbery (when Weather was back in the news even though it wasn't a Weather action), he was in college, just like he was when Bernardine and Bill turned themselves in. Barack declares "I was eight-years-old" and no one must question the Christ-child? I don't think so. I don't play stupid. Now Diane Rehm did last Friday, embarrassing herself repeating the lie, "He was eight years old!" Diane Rehm damn well knows that Weather Underground was not active for only one year. Considering that the bombing wave doesn't even start when Barack's eight-years-old, this lie needs to stop. Barack latches onto it because it's the easy out for him. It's not reality. And if Diane Rehm, for example, really can't remember those days, then it's time to retire. Seriously, the mind is gone if Diane Rehm honestly believes that Barack Obama was just eight-years-old throughout Weather Underground's long history. It's just like the issue of pardons and commuted sentences. He says something and the press runs with it. They don't bother to check out. They just start repeating it. That's embarrassing and more indicative of the failures of our modern press than anything else. An argument can be made with their known activities that they were more active from 1973-1975 than at any time in their history and Barack Obama was not eight-years-old then. Considering that the grandmother who raised him was a vice-president in a bank, it's highly unlikely that the bank bombings wouldn't have been the topic of conversation in his grandparents' home while Barack was growing up. If you're the child of a police officer and a police officer is shot anywhere in the US, it gets discussed. Also true of a fire fighter. This is nonsense and he gets away with it because we don't have a working press. We have a group of cheerleaders for Obama (and include Diane Rehm in that, she's far from fair as anyone listening can quickly determine -- she has chosen sides in the Democratic primary) trying to pass themselves off as the press. That's why, despite the fact that Bill Clinton did not pardon Susan Rosenberg and Linda Evans, the press went with that lie over and over and still continues to go with it. It's shameful. The actions did not occur when he was eight-years-old and anyone writing that or stating that is lying. It's that simple. Your historical ignorance is no excuse for your failure to check out the facts. Yeah, if you have the memory of pin cushion, doing your job may entail some work. Too damn bad, that's your job. Try actually doing it for a change.
The facts are the facts and, no Barack, wasn't 8-years-old. Barack lied again today and Laura, you should have called him on it:
"He's a professor at the University of Chicago - ah, Illinois, teaches education, and he engaged in these despicable acts 40 years ago when I was 8 years old. I served on a board with him. And so now they're trying to use this as guilt by association, and as you said, they've explicitly stated that what they want to do is to change the topic because they don't want to talk about the economy and the failed policies of the last eight years."
"Despicable acts 40 years ago"? He was 8-years-old in 1975? I mean, pick your damn year and figure out when he was 8-years-old. Equally true is when the British press were first asking early in the primaries, the Obama campaign claimed that Barack and Michelle's daughters went to school with Dohrn and Ayers' children -- a BOLD FACED LIE. The domestic press doesn't care to note the ever changing story. Just like they didn't bat an eye when Barack LIED during the debate with Hillary and claimed that Bill pardoned two members of Weather.
Now if he was really so uninvolved with Bill Ayers, pay attention, how did he happen to tell that lie in the debate? You only prep -- with factoids -- on the subjects you are vulnerable on. The uproar from the lunatics at FAIR indicates that the question of his relationship with Bill Ayers was so off-the-wall that no one would have asked it. So if that's the case, why was Barack prepped with a LIE to use for distraction?
Ralph Nader is the independent presidential candidate. Team Nader notes:
Drop $10 on Nader/Gonzalez now.
Why?
For the first time since 2004, the Dow Jones Industrials this morning dropped below 10,000.
The Dow is going down.
While Nader/Gonzalez is movin' on up.
Everything is in place for an October surprise.
Ralph is barnstorming the country -- this week in his home state of Connecticut and throughout New England.
(Fox News reports that a crowd of 2,000 showed up to hear Ralph at the University of Vermont yesterday.)
The MOB (McCain/Obama/Bush) were exposed last week like never before for the whole country to see.
As they all jumped aboard the Wall Street Bailout Express.
While Nader/Gonzalez stood opposed.
And stand opposed.
(Nader/Gonzalez would have prohibited Wall Street's "sustained orgy of excess and reckless behavior" -- as Richard Fisher, the president of the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank put it.)
The Nader/Gonzalez vast Get Out of the Vote Network is on the ground and cranking (Stay tuned for the details tomorrow.)
So, the choice on November 4 is clear.
The Corporate Elite.
Versus Main Street.
All we need is an October surprise.
An American awakening.
With the American people standing with the one candidate who has stood with them throughout his 40 year career.
Ralph Nader.
So, donate $10 now to the Nader/Gonzalez October Surprise Fund.
We're ready for an October surprise.
Are you?
Onward to November
iraq
yassem tahamcclatchy newspaperscorinne reilly
the new york timesalissa j. rubin
sam dagher
the los angeles timestina susmanmcclatchy newspapersleila fadel
elizabeth ferristom a. peterthe christian science monitor
Friday, October 03, 2008
Talking about liars and about Jean Seberg
I'm glad my post last night was so well received but I also want to point to Marcia's "My grandparents say Palin won (I agree)," Mike's "Why I think Palin won the debate" and Cedric's "Biden gets a big topic wrong" and Wally's "THIS JUST IN! PRECONDITIONS THROWS JOE!" (joint-post) on the Thursday debate as well as to Rebecca's ''ralph nader, the lenny bruce of politics" and Ruth's "Naomi Wolf needs to get medical help." On the latter, I do not know what has happened to Naomi Wolf but the woman is dog paddling in the deep end and clearly out of her element. I next expect to show up telling us that a spaceship is en route from Mars and we should prepare for our departure. (I think Namoi departed months ago.)
There is no lie or scare tactic that Wolf won't resort to. She truly has become a joke. I can't figure out whether she's insane or just thinks the rest of us are. If she's truly alarmed by a police-state and over FISA being broken, then she might try grasping that the rest of the country is damn well aware that her man-crush Barack voted to give the tele-com immunity. You cannot decry a police-state and the erosion of FISA and also promote Barack. But that is what the looney Naomi Wolf is attempting to do.
The woman's a nut and that 'campaign' she's with is equally nutty. I asked to be unsubscribed months ago, by clicking on their unsubscribe link, and they still send me their stuff. Another bad one was waiting in my inbox today.
This link will disappear (because it's AP via Google) at some point. But while it's up, look at the photo of Tina Fey and grasp that she looks nothing like Sarah Palin. So Tina's going to write a book? Good. She can write about stealing jobs from women (Kriten Wing), about tearing apart women and, no doubt, fill it with bitchy little Mean Girl lines.
Ladies and gentlemen, the new Joan Rivers.
Tina Fey is about as supportive of women as Rivers is and about as talented as Rivers is. (Which is no talent at all. Just an ability to be bitchy non-stop and delight men with her attacks on women.)
I see Howard Zinn has a new column. Not interested. In 2004, he joined in the Ralph Don't Run campaign. This summer he signed on to that pathetic blathering letter to Barack pleading for Barack to stand up. Hey, Howard, try standing up. Then I'll give a damn about what you have to say. Till then, you're just flapping your gums in the wind.
You have twice proved yourself to be a partisan -- and you're not even a Democrat. But you're damn happy to carry the water for the Democratic Party each election cycle of late. Not in the mood for your garbage.
I'm sick of all of our left liars. You know the type. They spend 3 years, sometimes 3 and a half, decrying the Democrats and then, as the election approaches, start trying to give out marching orders that we must vote Democrat. I'm sick of them. I'm damn sick of them all.
And I'm sick of the would-be-leaders like that idiot Melissa McEwan whowill never be as wonderful as she herself thinks she is.
What a little priss Missy is. And she's engaged in non-stop Bash the Bitch and still thinks she can do a "sexism watch"?
All she's done all week is trash Palin with snark and, yes, bitchy little lines.
Then she wants to show up claiming that she's calling out sexism when she's contributed to it by her non-stop rounds of Bash the Bitch.
Now Melissa's just offensive in that while claiming to be a feminist, she can't resist playing Bash the Bitch, a decidely non-feminist game. She's not concerned about the Iraq War as anyone making a brief visit to her site can tell.
But these people like Howard Zinn who are concerned with the illegal war? The Democrats were voted into control of both houses of Congress in November 2006. The illegal war has not only not ended, we have more US soldiers in Iraq than ever before. And will continue to have them in there throughout 2009. So this bulls**t that people like Zinn want to hop on board the Democratic Party train because it's a presidential election year is bulls**t.
I never know what to think about Howard Zinn to begin with. There's the Zinn of writing and the Zinn of person. I remember him laughing about Jane Fonda on Democracy Now! and I remember that moment took place while a book on Fonda had a pull quote from him praising Fonda. So which is it, Howie?
In fact, hold on, I've got that book. Okay, had to go to the book case. C.I. gave us all a copy of the book and a book of Jane Fonda's speeches. Amy Goodman asks Howard Zinn about people who went to Vietnam to protest the illegal war and he snorts and snickers, "You mean like Jane Fonda?" Oh, ha-ha-ha, Howie.
While he was declaring that, he was on the back cover of the then-new book by Mary Hershberger entitled Jane Fonda's War. This is his pull quote:
A carefully researched and gracefully written companion volume to Jane Fonda's autobiography. Mary Hershberger provides a valuable service by reproducing transcripts of the movie star's broadcasts in Hanoi, and she has pored through official documents to describe in detial the FBI's covert attempts to discredit her. Altogether, an important contribution to the literature on the Vietnam Era. Acknowledging the inspriation provided to a whole generation by Jane Fonda's courageous protests against the war.
But at the same time, he's snickering at Jane Fonda on Democracy Now!?
Look, we don't ask for perfection, we just ask for some damn consistency from our leaders.
And Howard Zinn's demonstrated repeatedly over the last four years that it's become too much for him to manage consistency.
I love Elaine and I know she loves Howie. I'm not trying to hurt her feelings with this post and will e-mail her when this posts. But I have truly had it with these people like Howie Zinn who say one thing at one point and completely contradict themselves the next.
And for the record, the book he's praising is a bad and COWARDLY book.
We did a roundtable at Third and Betty brought up the book. C.I. hadn't read it (just gifted us with it) and Betty wanted C.I. to talk about Jean Seberg. Mary Hershberger doesn't get it wrong -- that's giving her too much credit. She's a damn coward.
She blames Jean's miscarriage on Joyce Harber. A gossip columnist. As C.I. documented in that conversation (and this is a personal issue with C.I. who liked Jean a great deal) Jean's miscarriage had nothing to do with Harber. Harber ran a blind item, months prior to Jean's miscarriage. It was not a big deal to Jean. The miscarriage comes when Newsweek runs a non-blind item. That's when Jean miscarries. And she and her then husband sued Newsweek. But somehow GUTLESS Mary Hershberger can call out Joyce Harber but can't say a damn word about Newsweek? Whom the couple sued?
C.I. was furious. She has never walked out in the middle of a roundtable before. She came back and she was still furious.
Here's that section of the roundtable:
Jim: Okay. Betty had asked for something to be brought up. It's peace then, peace now, I'm guessing. But there's a new book on Jane Fonda entitled Jane Fonda's War by Mary Hershberger that Betty doesn't care for.
C.I.: I'm sorry, Betty.
Betty: No, I loved reading most of it. C.I. gave me a copy, I think most of us got a copy. Right?
Rebecca: Right. And I think I know what you're going to talk about. I've avoided noting the book at my site for that reason. I do enjoy the book of speeches and intend to note that. The speeches were collected and edited by Hershberger as well.
Betty: This is about the media. It's about the government. It's about a war on peace. Which is why I'm bringing it up. There's a section in the book that has no relation to reality and I know Dona's warning about time so what I'd like to do, if that's okay, is read the section that infurated me and have C.I. rebutt line by line. Is that okay?
Jim: Fine by me. C.I.?
C.I.: Sure.
Betty: This begins on page 52 and continues through page 53. The discussion is about how J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI attempted to smear those speaking out. This section focuses on Jean Seberg and C.I. has brought that up in roundtables and written of it at The Common Ills. What the woman presents in this book is not reality. Jean Seberg is pregnant, she's an actress famous for Breathless, among other films. She is publicly with Romain Gary. Both are White. The decision is made to discredit her. The FBI decides they will discredit her by stating that she's carrying the baby of a Black Panther which is supposed to send shock waves through the still racist America. Richard Wallace Held is the FBI agent Hershberger identifies as participating.
C.I.: But there were more.
Betty: Right. So he prepares a letter with a phony signature that won't be traced back to the FBI, the book tells you. "Held heeded the order and then sent his letter to Hollywood gossip columnist Joyce Harber under a false name, purporting to be a friend of Seberg's." C.I.?
C.I.: If Hershberger knows what really happened, that is a lie. More likely she's bought into the attempts to lynch Harber which allowed others to go scott free. Harber was not sent the letter. Okay, I'm taking a breath. Just to explain the importance of this, what will be done to Seberg destroys her. She will never recover from it. She will suffer under the stress and she will eventually kill herself. This isn't something to be tossed out or something to write about when you don't know your facts. I'll assume Hershberger doesn't know her facts. That sentence alone contains a huge inaccuracy. Harber was not sent the letter. She was given it. She was given it by Bill Thomas, then the city editor of The Los Angeles Times, and he wrote at the top of the letter something like, "Joyce, I don't know if you care, but this comes from a reliable source." Joyce Harber was not sent the letter. She didn't do a blind item, but I'm getting ahead, on some letter she was sent. An editor at the paper passed it on and vouched for it. That was Bill Thomas. Bill Thomas publicly admitted to that. He had to because the letter was in Harber's files and anyone could see Thomas' note that he'd scribbled on it. When he admitted to it he denied remembering anything about it. Bill Thomas was up to his neck in that. He also, just FYI, was the person who fired Joyce Harber from the paper.
Betty: "She didn't name Jean Seberg, calling her "Miss A," but she printed unique details of Seberg's life and career that made the identity of 'Miss A' obvious."
C.I.: Well the item could have described several. That's what a blind item is. The musical in the item is probably the biggest clue but many could have read it and thought, for instance, "Jane Fonda" and just assumed she'd signed to do a musical and they didn't know about it.
Betty: I'm going to hurry this along. "Newspapers and magazines around the country picked up the story, and an emotionally fragile Seberg attempted suicide. Doctors tried to save her baby's life by performaing a ceasearn section, but the baby lived only two days."
C.I.: There are so many lies in that I don't know where to start. Harber wrote for The LA Times. Her column was also syndicated. Those who carried her syndicated column picked it up as they normally did. It did not cause anything like what that woman describes in her book. Rebecca told me not to read that because she knows how I am about Seberg. Not to read the book. I'm glad I didn't. Is Flyboy listening?
Rebecca: Yes. Why?
C.I.: See if he'll speak for a minute.
Flyboy: Sure. What's up?
C.I.: I've talked in roundtables about this and written about it at The Common Ills. Betty knows and everyone else knows what happened. I'm thinking you may not.
Flyboy: Not really. Just what Betty was reading and Rebecca telling me, "Oh my God, C.I. is going to be furious." That was when she was reading the book.
C.I.: You heard what Betty read. Could you tell me the events as the author portrays them?
Flyboy: A gossip columinist at an LA paper writes that Jean Seberg is pregnant by a Black Panther. Jean Seberg tries to kill herself. The baby dies.
C.I.: Thank you. That is such a fucking lie -- and I just told one member last week I'd try to watch my own language in these editions. I do not take kindly to anyone lying about Jean Seberg. Rebecca said skip the book or you'll be pissed. Jean Seberg went into the hospital in August. The trauma at that time was Newsweek, not The Los Angeles Times. When the Harber blind item ran it was May of 1970.
Betty: May 19, 1970 according to the endnote.
C.I.: Thank you. Sebergs ends up in the hospital in August, after Seberg o.d.ed on sleeping pills, which was not thought by all to be a suicide attempt, she was taken to the hospital. While she was in the hospital, Edward Behr wrote up a bit on her for Newsweek. He maintained that he included the 'news' that the baby's father was a Black Panther in his cable to Newsweek's NY headquarters because he was just trying to prove he was 'on' the story and in the know but it wasn't for publication. In the cable he does mark that "Strictly FYI". That ends up running in Newsweek. Kermit Lasner will offer the laughable excuse that he had no idea how that piece of shit made it into the magazine because he'd had a scooter accident at lunch. Newseek printed, August 24th issue, 1970, that, this is a quote, I damn well know what they printed: "She and French author Romain Gary, 56, are reportedly about to remarry even though the baby Jean expects in Ocotober is by another man -- a black activist she met in California." That's what got picked up everywhere, including in The Des Moines Register, Seberg's hometown paper. Now that book is supposed to utilize government documents and the FBI had Seberg's phones tapped, including her hospital phone, so they knew very well that her state of mind was frantic after Newsweek published the item. She lost the baby because of the Newsweek article. I question everything that Betty quoted including the timeline. Newsweek printed it, it got picked up everywhere, Jean Seberg lost her baby, and Romain Gary was quite clear whom he blamed when he wrote "The Big Knife" which was published in France-Soir. This was a very huge thing, in press on both sides of the Atlantic. It's still a huge deal to many and one of the main reasons I never link to the piece of crap Newsweek.
Betty: I knew it was wrong. We've discussed this and it's addressed in "Spying and Seberg" but I had to wonder how an author gets it that wrong? Maybe because it's a little easier to go after a dead gossip columnist than it is to go after Newsweek?
C.I.: To be honest with you, that's exactly where I went as well. Joyce Harber was scapegoated for that thing which she never would have read if the city editor hadn't vouched for it. Bill Thomas got off scott free. But what Harber did was a bit of gossip. In a blind item. Newsweek, not a gossip publication, printed a lie in their magazine and that set off a wave outside of any gossip community. They knew what would happen when they did that, both to Seberg and in terms of being echoed throughout the press. That was nothing but corporate media going after a peace activist. It's exactly the kind of crap they've always done and for an author of a book published by The Free Press to either not know or to avoid telling readers the actual truth is just disgusting. It's the August 24, 1970 issue of Newsweek. Anyone who doubts it can get their ass to a libary and utilize the reels or microfiche.
Dona: I just want to note that this wasn't true, it was something created by the FBI, and, therefore, it needs to be asked how a Newsweek reporter in France got hold of the information?
So now we're on the topic of the media. Okay, everyone, we're taking a break. C.I. just walked off in disgust.
Jim: And we're back. Before we move on, do you want to add anything C.I.?
C.I.: Just that if you feel the press led to the death of Seberg's child, I do, and that it was a government plot, which has been established and someone needing a source can comb through Richard Cohen's columns, he's written very strongly about it, after the FBI records became public, at The Washington Post, you name the people involved. This is the sort of cowardice we see too much of it, if it's not ignorance, a refusal to go after the big targets because you're scared. It makes my blood boil. Betty's right, it's really easy to go after a gossip columnist. It's a lot more difficult to go after Newsweek for some. But the reality is that it was Newsweek in August, not Harber in May that printed the lie and printed Jean Seberg's name by it. It was a government plot against Seberg and running to hide behind gossip columnists sure does allow Newsweek breathing room. When the government decides to destroy someone and when you can prove that it was a plot to destroy her, carried out by the FBI, with J. Edgar Hoover's approval, you tell the truth about it. You don't write, "OH MY GOD! JOYCE HARBER RAN A BLIND ITEM AND IT DESTROYED JEAN SEBERG!" The blind item worried her. Newsweek destroyed her. There's a difference.
As you'll note, C.I. can and did name all the parties involved. And did so with no needed research, she knows the story. But Mary Hershberger, allgedly researching the issue, can't call out Newsweeks or even get her damn timeline right. It's a bad book.
And one would assume 'historian' Howie Zinn would damn well know the history.
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Friday, October 3, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces another death, Rosa Clement (Green Party) and Matt Gonzalez (independent) take part in a vice presidential debate this morning, Sarah Palin (Republican) and Joe Biden (Democrat) took part in a vice presidential debate last night, what got signed in Iraq today?, and more.
Megan Feldman (Dallas Observer) notes the suicides of war veterans Andrew Valez, Ted Westhusing, Nils Aron Andersson, Jeff Lucey, Derek Henderson and Chad Barrett and explains:
A series of recent reports reveals that record numbers of active-duty troops are committing suicide, raising concerns about the military's ability to adequately screen, diagnose and treat soldiers with mental health problems.
An Army report released in May showed that at least 115 soldiers killed themselves in 2007, the highest rate since the Army began keeping records in 1980. One of the officials to present the study cited extended and multiple deployments, frequent exposure to "horrifying" experiences and easy access to loaded weapons.
This year's suicide tally among active-duty troops -- 62 confirmed and 31 other deaths still under investigation -- is on pace t surpass last year's and push the rate of suicides per 100,000 service members above that of the civilian population for the first time ever, Army officials announced in early September.
The reports follow the controversy that enveloped the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs earlier this year when the agency was caught deliberately hiding high suicide rates among veterans. An e-mail to colleagues from Ira Katz, the VA's head of mental health, began "Shh!" and estimated the unreleased number of suicide attempts at 1,000 per month. "Is this something we should (carefully) address ourselves in some sort of release before someone stumbles on it?" he wrote. That was after the agency told CBS there were just 790 suicide attempts in all of 2007. After a three-month investigation, the network reported "a hidden epidemic" of suicides among veterans, especially the youngest ones who had served most recently.
In November of last year, CBS News aired a story entitled 'Suicide Epidemic Among Veterans.' On April 21, 2008, CBS News aired a story 'VA Hid Suicide Risk, Internal E-mails Show.' The reports (Armen Keteyian reported and Pia Malbran was the producer of the reports) were noted in an May 6th hearing of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee entitled "The Truth About Veterans' Suicides." The chair of the committee is US House Rep Bob Filner who pointed to these reports in his opening states and reminded Dr. Ira Katz (one of the witnesses appearing before the hearing) that not only had CBS News reported on this after being misled by the VA in November, but that Katz had told Congress in December 2007 that "from the beginning of the war through the end of 2005 there were 144 known suicides among these new veterans." Katz' e-mail that Feldman refers to in her report was replied to by Ev Chasen (VA's chief communication director) who declared, "I think this is something we should discuss ourselves, before issuing a release. Is the fact that we're stopping them good news, or is the sheer number bad news? And is this more than we've ever seen before? It might be something we drop into a general release about suicide prevention efforts, which (as you know far better than I) prominently include training employees to recognize the warning signs of suicide."
In July, the VA was stated that their suicide hotiline had received calls from more than 22,000 veterans (the number is 1-800-873-TALK). And, apparently keeping Ev Chasen's words in mind ("Is the fact that we're stopping them good news, or is the sheer number bad news?") declared that their work had prevented 1,221 suicides.
The May 6th hearing would include testimony from Dr. Roger Maris (University of South Carolina) where he would note that "the vast majority of VA facilities, in fact, do not have suicide coordinators." Monday Mike Mount (CNN) reported, "The U.S. Army is establishing a suicide prevention board to examine the mental health of its recruiters around the country after the fourth suicide in three years by Houston, Texas-based recruiters, according to Army officials. The board will look at how to handle the high-stress climate facing recruiters who may be both under pressure from their job and victims of post-combat deployment stress, according to Douglas Smith, a spokesman from the U.S. Army Recruiting command." CNN refers to a recent suicide in the article and states they've chosen not to name the victim. AP reports there were two recent ones (Staff Sgt. Larry G. Flores Jr in August and Sgt 1st Class Patrick G. Henderson in September) "from the same Houston-based battalion" for a total of five from that battalion. Linsay Wise (Houston Chronicle) quotes Texas Tech's psychology chair David Rudd stating, "Clearly, there's a problem. Somebody needs to look and see if there's a broader national problem outside of this one battalion. Is it a problem placing these combat veterans in recruiting positions?" Wise also notes that US Senator John Cornyn has asked the Secretary of the Army "for a briefing on the ongoing investigation and on the policy of returning soldiers from combat and reassigning them to a recruiting office."
Today Kathlyn Stone (Twin Cities Daily Planet) reports on the work of Penny Coleman who runs PTSD workshops (and states, "It's not a disorder, it's an injury") including one in August at the Veterans For Peace conference and notes, "The VA is in denial about PTSD contributing to the high suicide rate of combat veterans, she says, adding that official counts aren't accurate. Speaking of Vietnam vets, Coleman said, 'There are more suicides than names on the [Vietnam Memorial] wall.' Veterans For Peace members agree that the United States must be better prepared to provide not only care for physical wounds but also better mental health support for soldiers now serving or just returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Coleman cited figures released by CBS News documenting over 6,256 military suicides in 2005." At the start of the week John C. Bersia (McClatchy-Tribune) observed, "Most Americans are familiar with the official Iraq toll -- as of last week, 4,169 U.S. dead, along with a several hundred from allied nations. Missing from that list, though, are Americans who fulfilled their duties and returned home unable to cope with the complexities of life after Iraq, often compounded by post-traumatic stress disorder. One such person died last week; his name was Dominic D.H. Pritchard, a resident of Ovideo, Fla. He was a U.S. Marine, a student, a citizen-soldier who volunteered with the Florida Army National Guard because of his desire to serve his community in times of clamity, and an emerging writer with a particular passion for history, military affairs and art."
Meanwhile retired Army Col and retired US State Dept Ann Wright pens a column for The Fayetteville Observer:
As a former army officer who once served proudly at Fort Bragg, I'll be returning here Wednesday. I'm going to join in a commemoration of the deaths of three military women, and the suffering of the many other victims of military-related domestic violence and sexual assault.
The commemoration will start with a vigil at the Yadkin Road gate of Fort Bragg at 11 a.m. The vigil will be followed by a luncheon-discussion at 12:30 p.m. at the Quaker House and conclude with a wreath-laying at the grave of another victim of military spousal homicide.
We invite the military and civilian communities of Fayetteville and Jacksonville to join us.
We'll be especially mindful of the three women soldiers who were murdered in this area in the first six months of this year, allegedly by male GIs: Army Spc. Megan Touma, who was seven months pregnant; Fort Bragg nurse 2nd Lt. Holley Wimunc; and Marine Lance Corp. Maria Lauterbach, who had been raped and also was pregnant.
And AP is reporting that arrrests have been made in the death of Sgt Christina E. Smith ("the third off-post killing of a Fort Bragg servicewoman in four months") -- her husband, Sgt. Richard Smith, is "charged with first-degree and conspiracy to commit murder" and "Pfc. Matthew Kvapil, 18, faces the same charges, and [Theresa] Chance [spokesperson for Fayetteville police] said he was hired by Smith to kill the wife as the couple walked together Tuesday evening."
In Iraq today . . . confusion. Corinne Reilly (McClatchy Newspapers) reports that the presidency council "has agreed to approve a long-delayed law that will allow most of the country to hold provincial elections early next year, officials said Friday." However, China's Xinhua reports that the "presidential council had not approved the provincial election law passed by the parliament, local media reported Friday." Al Jazeera does not say that they have agreed to pass it, Al Jaezeera states that it is passed. AP also states it has passed and, in fact, signed into law by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani: "Firyad Rawndouzi, a Kurdish lawmaker, told The Associated Press that the three-member panel led by President Jalal Talabani had signed the law Friday and asked the parliament 'to solve the minorities problem'." Article 50 issue was never addressed. It is the one that has been called out by everyone from Iraqi Christians to Moqtada al-Sadr and puts minority representation at risk. Nouri al-Maliki did express some public statements and there is said to have been concern on the part of the presidency council. But if it's signed, it's the law. The Parliament can try to fix it but the law is what was signed by Talabani.
Erica Goode and Mohammed Hussein (New York Times) report on Samarra and among the details provided by the reporters is that the reconstruction of Askairya Shrine (after the 2007 bombing) is not only expensive (expected to cost $8 million), the reconstruction is being done "without blueprints." Samara, like everywhere in Iraq, suffers from the same problems: "few jobs available, that the water is not potable, that the electricity is intermittent at best, that they have not received their pensions and that there are shortages of medicine." At Baghdad Bureau Blog (the paper's blog) Mohammed Hussein has written of the journey taken to report that story and notes, "The Awakening and National Police and Iraqi army all manned different checkpoints. It took one and a half hours to drive only 70 miles. There was some risk along the whole journey, but during the 90-minute drive I was really worried for only five minutes, near Meshahda. Five minutes can be a big deal." Hussein shares impressions of all the areas they traveled through, by the way.
Wednesday, the US 'handed over' the "Awakening" Councils to the puppet government in Baghdad. Scott Peterson (Christian Science Monitor) reports today: "Fresh concern is washing over Iraq of a new wave of insurgent violence as the bands of mainly Sunni Muslim Iraqis, trained, armed and paid by the US military to fight Al Qaeda in Iraq are now coming under the control of a skeptical Shiite-led government. While the group called the Sons of Iraq (SOI) has been critically imporant in improving security, the US military and many leaders within the SOI worry that their foot soldiers -- many of them ex-insurgents -- will simply return to their old ways if they are not paid or brought into Iraq's official security forces." The Charleston Post and Courier editorializes on the same topic, expresses similar concerns and notes: "Doubts about the ability of the two sides to quickly develop a satisfactory relationship is a major reason why the Pentagon on Wednesday announced plans for sending additional forces to Iraq next year. The reinforcements, if needed, would maintain U.S. troop strength in Iraq at the present level of about 152,000 through 2009." Meanwhile UPI reports on the female branch of "Awakening" (also called Daughters of Iraq) and states that "is taking on a new role under U.S. financing as part of the counterinsurgency strategy there, officials said." They are paid 20% less than males and that wage discrimination was put in place by the White House. On the issue of counter-insurgency, Karen DeYoung and Walter Pincus (Washington Post) report on the US Defense Department's latest contracts ("up to $300 million") which will "produce news stories, entertainment programs and public service advertisements" in Iraq aimed at Iraqis in a program called "information/psychological operations" that is part of the counter-insurgency strategies. The US has a lengthy history of attempting to use the media within Iraq to propagandize to the Iraqi people. For an earlier effort, you can refer to Borzou Daragahi and Mark Mazzetti (Los Angeles Times) explaining the process in 2005 which noted the US military penned articles and that many were then "presented in the Iraqi press as unbiased news accounts written and reported by independent journalists. The stories trumpet the work of U.S. and Iraqi troops, denounced insurgents and tout U.S.-led efforts to rebuild the country."
It's Friday so little violence gets reported but some of today's violence includes:.
Bombings?
Reuters notes a Sulaiman Pek roadside bombing which resulted in two people being injured.
Shootings?
Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 1 corpse discovered in Baghdad.
Today the US military announced: "A Multi-National Division -- Center Soldier was killed when an improvised explosive device exploded near his vehicle south of Amarah Oct. 2." That is the first announced death for the month and brings the number of US service members killed in Iraq to 4177 since the start of the illegal war.
On Democracy Now! today, a vice presidential debate took place between Matt Gonzales (Ralph Nader's running mate) and Rosa Clemente (Cynthia McKinney's running mate). During their debate, they were shown clips of GOP v.p. nominee Governor Sarah Palin and Democratic v.p. nominee Joe Biden weighing in on various topics from last night's debate.
From the transcript (and remember, it is watch, listen or read at DN!):
JUAN GONZALEZ: Governor Sarah Palin and Senator Biden, talking about the war in last night's debate. Rosa Clemente, Green Party vice-presidential nominee, what's your viewpoint on the war?
ROSA CLEMENTE: Well, the Green Party's viewpoint -- and Cynthia has been very clear, and the party has been very clear -- an immediate end to the war, an immediate withdrawal of troops in Iraq, but also in Afghanistan. And, you know, one thing Cynthia agrees with a former colleague of hers, Dennis Kucinich, is that we now have to talk about creating departments of peace. And we have to also talk about withdrawing troops wherever they reside in other people's homelands. I always found it interesting -- or, you know, the fact that we, as the United States government, and we, as the people in this country, allow our military to be placed in other people's homelands. And being from Puerto Rico, I'm very clear on why the military does what it does. But we would never allow another country to have a military base there. And that might be a little simplistic kind of thing to throw out there, but I also think it speaks to the way we want to move forward in the future. And I don't think that either party is planning on ending the war. I think that the Democrats are more about transferring troops to Afghanistan and potentially preparing for a war in Pakistan. And even yesterday, Joe Biden talked about the possibility of putting troops in in Darfur. And I think that's something that we have to say immediately is unacceptable and that the majority of young people in this country have been clear for the last five years that we want an end to the war right now.
AMY GOODMAN: Independent vice-presidential candidate Matt Gonzalez?
MATT GONZALEZ: Well, I certainly -- and Ralph Nader supports getting our troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan immediately. I think the problem with a lot of the rhetoric that we're hearing is that if you concede that the surge is working, which we do not concede--but the moment you do that, you are going to run into a problem with the so-called timetable. Are the Democrats going to stick to a timetable if, as they start to draw down troops, there's increased sectarian violence? And I think the answer to that is really unclear, and probably no. I think the only way that we can successfully get out of this country is if, at the outset, we make it clear we're going to -- we're going to work quickly to get our troops out of the region, that we're part of the reason why the region remains unstable.
And we'll also note this section of the debate:
AMY GOODMAN: Matt Gonzalez, I know you have to leave, so I'm going to give you the first stab at this, as you catch a plane. And also, a correction: in 2004, yes, Ralph Nader was an Independent candidate, as well. He was, 2000, the Green Party candidate. Your comment on same-sex marriage?
MATT GONZALEZ: Well, obviously, Nader and I support marriage rights for all. I think it's insulting to hear these candidates want it both ways. They're essentially trying to appeal to both conservative voters who are opposed to gay marriage and somehow also appeal to progressive voters who want to see equality. You know, I think Ralph Nader, you know, when you step back and look at his history, he is somebody who is an enormously important voice against the growing corporate greed in this society and what concentrated capital does when it's left alone. And I think he's not somebody who has decided to fight against the two parties. You know, he has, his entire life, been fighting against these parties -- it's not a recent conversion -- on a host of issues. And I think he should have been in this debate. I think he has a legislative record that's stronger than the candidates that we saw in that debate. I mean, Joe Biden should have been asked about his support of credit card companies in Delaware, of the federal sentencing guidelines that he helped pass in the 1980s that, you know, has disproportionately hurt people of color. These were things that were absent. And I think if Rosa and I had been in that debate, it would have been a better debate.
AMY GOODMAN: And, Rosa Clemente, your perspective on gay marriage?
ROSA CLEMENTE: I mean, full 100 percent equal rights for everybody. I also take it a step further for it being about human rights. LGBT people are human beings, and they have a right, like anyone else, to get married, to get divorced, to not get married. But if I could just quickly just say, yes, Cynthia did leave the Democratic Party after twelve years, but while she was in there, it was Cynthia McKinney that had a hearing on the issue of political prisoners, the first-ever congressional hearing on that. It was Cynthia that pushed the envelope about what happened on 9/11. It was Cynthia that wrote the articles of impeachment. And I think that speaks highly to someone who will leave a party, finally, based on principles and values and then pick someone that truly represents what the majority of this country is going to look like. I think if me and Matt were on there, and if Cynthia, Bob Barr, [Chuck] Baldwin, Ron Paul and Ralph Nader were allowed to debate, the presidency on November 4th would look radically different and would represent the majority of American people.
Green Party presidential nominee Cynthia McKinney took the "super pledge" Thursday:
I, Cynthia McKinney, pledge to use my candidacy, whenever feasible, to advance the preservation of democracy. I will officially challenge the results of the election as provided by law if the combination of election conditions, incident reports and announced election results calls into question the reliability of the official vote count. I will wait until all valid votes are counted and all serious challenges resolved before declaring victory or conceding defeat. I will involve my campaign volunteers in actions to enhance the accuracy and verifiability of the election in which I am a candidate. I will speak out publicly during the pre-election period about the importance of fair, accurate and transparent elections and about this pledge. I will designate a liaison between my campaign and "Standing For Voters" so that "Standing For Voters" can alert me to any red flags they are aware of regarding my election.
Meanwhile independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader weighs in on the economic bailout. Click here for his post before the House voted today (it passed) and here were his thoughts prior to vote:
People often ask me -- what forces shaped you, Ralph? I reply simply: "A lucky choice of parents." Among other things, my parents passed down many traditions. Traditions that were handed down from generations before them. Traditions that served as a counterweight to the addictions. And fads. And technologies.
Of modern life. Traditions such as: The tradition of listening. The tradition of scarcity. The tradition of discipline. And the tradition of civics. A couple of years ago, I sat down at my manual Underwood typewriter and wrote a book titled The Seventeen Traditions (Harper Collins, 2007). It's about growing up in my hometown of Winsted, Connecticut (above is a picture of me standing next to my mother Rose). And it details the seventeen traditions of my youth. It's the only book that I've written that everybody loves. When you get a copy, you'll know why. Flipping through a copy of the book the other day, I asked myself -- If the majority in this Congress was governed by the traditions that we grew up with in the New England of my youth -- wouldn't they have acted to prevent Wall Street's "sustained orgy of excess and reckless behavior" -- as Richard Fisher, the president of the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank put it last week?
Surely they wouldn't then turn around and reward that behavior with a $750 billion bailout? By now you know that McCain, Obama and Bush all support the bailout. And Nader/Gonzalez are opposed. And we again urge all members of the House to vote against the bailout today.
But no matter how the House votes today, Nader/Gonzalez will be barnstorming the country in October. Putting front and center our platform of shifting the power from the corporations back into the hands of the American people. We're on the ballot in 45 states and the District of Columbia. We've deployed a contingent to each state to coordinate our get out the vote drive. And we're raising money to drive the campaign home to election day. But we need to raise $1,000,000 in October to get it done. Our first October goal is to raise $250,000 by October 12. Yes, that's a heavy lift. But it's been heavy before, and you've come through every time. So, here's the idea:If you donate $17, or $170, or $10, or $50 -- whatever you can afford to donate -- by midnight tonight, we'll e-mail to you tomorrow a signed one pager listing the 17 traditions.
You can share it with your friends and family.Or just stick it in your drawer for posterity's sake.If you donate $100 now, we will send you a copy of the 150-page hard cover edition of The Seventeen Traditions -- my favorite book. And I'll autograph it.In my humble opinion, this book makes a wonderful present -- for the upcoming holidays, as a wedding present, birthday present, Mother's Day present, or for a baby shower. (This Seventeen Traditions book offer expires on October 12, 2008 at 11:59 p.m.)So, stock up now.The more the merrier. The proceeds will power our campaign during this momentous October.Thank you again for your generous support.Together, we are making a difference.
Onward to November
Thursday night, Governor Sarah Palin and Senator Joe Biden debated. The John McCain - Sarah Palin campaign issued this statement regarding the debate:
Statement From Communications Director Jill Hazelbaker
ARLINGTON, VA -- McCain-Palin 2008 Communications Director Jill Hazelbaker issued the following statement on tonight's Vice Presidential Debate: "Tonight, Governor Palin proved beyond any doubt that she is ready to lead as Vice President of the United States. She won this debate, putting Joe Biden on defense on energy, foreign policy, taxes and the definition of change. Governor Palin laid bare Barack Obama's record of voting to raise taxes, opposing the surge in Iraq, and proposing to meet unconditionally with the leaders of state sponsors of terror. The differences between the Obama-Biden ticket and the McCain-Palin ticket could not have been clearer. The American people saw stark contrasts in style and worldview. They saw Joe Biden, a Washington insider and a 36-year Senator, and Governor Palin, a Washington outsider and a maverick reformer. Governor Palin was direct, forceful and a breath of fresh air."
The McCain - Palin campaign also quotes Geraldine Ferraro, the first women to make the ticket of one of the country's two major parties (1984, the Democratic ticket of Mondale - Ferraro). Ferraro stated on NBC: "I really wanted her to get up there and do a good job, and I think she did. . . . I think it was a good evening for -- certainly for Governor Palin. . . . . I think she showed she is certainly capable of going toe to toe with a man who is more than qualified to be vice president, if not president of the United States."
Quickly, TV notes, NOW on PBS offers a look at New Mexico which is seen as a battleground state in the 2008 election and speak to various voting groups as well as to Governor Bill Richardson. Washington Week finds Gwen sitting around the table with four journalists including the AP's Charles Babington. (And for others, 'journalists' is being generous.) In a book note, independent journalist David Bacon's latest book is Illegal People -- How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants (Beacon Press) which came out last month. The Oakland Institute notes: "Since NAFTA's passage in 1993, the U.S. Congress has debated and passed several new trade agreements - with Peru, Jordan, Chile, and the Central American Free Trade Agreement. At the same time it has debated immigration policy as though those trade agreements bore no relationship to the waves of displaced people migrating to the U.S., looking for work. Meanwhile, a rising tide of anti-immigrant hysteria has increasingly demonized those migrants, leading to measures that deny them jobs, rights, or any pretense of equality with people living in the communities around them. To resolve any of these dilemmas, from adopting rational and humane immigration policies to reducing the fear and hostility towards migrants, Uprooted: The Impact of Free Market on Migrants, a new Backgrounder from the Oakland Institute, suggests the starting point has be an examination of the way U.S. policies have both produced migration and criminalized migrants."
iraq
the new york timeserica goode
armen keteyianpia malbran
democracy now
karen deyoungwalter pincusthe washington postthe los angeles timesborzou daragahimark mazzetti
scott peterson
david bacon
now on pbspbswashington week
There is no lie or scare tactic that Wolf won't resort to. She truly has become a joke. I can't figure out whether she's insane or just thinks the rest of us are. If she's truly alarmed by a police-state and over FISA being broken, then she might try grasping that the rest of the country is damn well aware that her man-crush Barack voted to give the tele-com immunity. You cannot decry a police-state and the erosion of FISA and also promote Barack. But that is what the looney Naomi Wolf is attempting to do.
The woman's a nut and that 'campaign' she's with is equally nutty. I asked to be unsubscribed months ago, by clicking on their unsubscribe link, and they still send me their stuff. Another bad one was waiting in my inbox today.
This link will disappear (because it's AP via Google) at some point. But while it's up, look at the photo of Tina Fey and grasp that she looks nothing like Sarah Palin. So Tina's going to write a book? Good. She can write about stealing jobs from women (Kriten Wing), about tearing apart women and, no doubt, fill it with bitchy little Mean Girl lines.
Ladies and gentlemen, the new Joan Rivers.
Tina Fey is about as supportive of women as Rivers is and about as talented as Rivers is. (Which is no talent at all. Just an ability to be bitchy non-stop and delight men with her attacks on women.)
I see Howard Zinn has a new column. Not interested. In 2004, he joined in the Ralph Don't Run campaign. This summer he signed on to that pathetic blathering letter to Barack pleading for Barack to stand up. Hey, Howard, try standing up. Then I'll give a damn about what you have to say. Till then, you're just flapping your gums in the wind.
You have twice proved yourself to be a partisan -- and you're not even a Democrat. But you're damn happy to carry the water for the Democratic Party each election cycle of late. Not in the mood for your garbage.
I'm sick of all of our left liars. You know the type. They spend 3 years, sometimes 3 and a half, decrying the Democrats and then, as the election approaches, start trying to give out marching orders that we must vote Democrat. I'm sick of them. I'm damn sick of them all.
And I'm sick of the would-be-leaders like that idiot Melissa McEwan whowill never be as wonderful as she herself thinks she is.
What a little priss Missy is. And she's engaged in non-stop Bash the Bitch and still thinks she can do a "sexism watch"?
All she's done all week is trash Palin with snark and, yes, bitchy little lines.
Then she wants to show up claiming that she's calling out sexism when she's contributed to it by her non-stop rounds of Bash the Bitch.
Now Melissa's just offensive in that while claiming to be a feminist, she can't resist playing Bash the Bitch, a decidely non-feminist game. She's not concerned about the Iraq War as anyone making a brief visit to her site can tell.
But these people like Howard Zinn who are concerned with the illegal war? The Democrats were voted into control of both houses of Congress in November 2006. The illegal war has not only not ended, we have more US soldiers in Iraq than ever before. And will continue to have them in there throughout 2009. So this bulls**t that people like Zinn want to hop on board the Democratic Party train because it's a presidential election year is bulls**t.
I never know what to think about Howard Zinn to begin with. There's the Zinn of writing and the Zinn of person. I remember him laughing about Jane Fonda on Democracy Now! and I remember that moment took place while a book on Fonda had a pull quote from him praising Fonda. So which is it, Howie?
In fact, hold on, I've got that book. Okay, had to go to the book case. C.I. gave us all a copy of the book and a book of Jane Fonda's speeches. Amy Goodman asks Howard Zinn about people who went to Vietnam to protest the illegal war and he snorts and snickers, "You mean like Jane Fonda?" Oh, ha-ha-ha, Howie.
While he was declaring that, he was on the back cover of the then-new book by Mary Hershberger entitled Jane Fonda's War. This is his pull quote:
A carefully researched and gracefully written companion volume to Jane Fonda's autobiography. Mary Hershberger provides a valuable service by reproducing transcripts of the movie star's broadcasts in Hanoi, and she has pored through official documents to describe in detial the FBI's covert attempts to discredit her. Altogether, an important contribution to the literature on the Vietnam Era. Acknowledging the inspriation provided to a whole generation by Jane Fonda's courageous protests against the war.
But at the same time, he's snickering at Jane Fonda on Democracy Now!?
Look, we don't ask for perfection, we just ask for some damn consistency from our leaders.
And Howard Zinn's demonstrated repeatedly over the last four years that it's become too much for him to manage consistency.
I love Elaine and I know she loves Howie. I'm not trying to hurt her feelings with this post and will e-mail her when this posts. But I have truly had it with these people like Howie Zinn who say one thing at one point and completely contradict themselves the next.
And for the record, the book he's praising is a bad and COWARDLY book.
We did a roundtable at Third and Betty brought up the book. C.I. hadn't read it (just gifted us with it) and Betty wanted C.I. to talk about Jean Seberg. Mary Hershberger doesn't get it wrong -- that's giving her too much credit. She's a damn coward.
She blames Jean's miscarriage on Joyce Harber. A gossip columnist. As C.I. documented in that conversation (and this is a personal issue with C.I. who liked Jean a great deal) Jean's miscarriage had nothing to do with Harber. Harber ran a blind item, months prior to Jean's miscarriage. It was not a big deal to Jean. The miscarriage comes when Newsweek runs a non-blind item. That's when Jean miscarries. And she and her then husband sued Newsweek. But somehow GUTLESS Mary Hershberger can call out Joyce Harber but can't say a damn word about Newsweek? Whom the couple sued?
C.I. was furious. She has never walked out in the middle of a roundtable before. She came back and she was still furious.
Here's that section of the roundtable:
Jim: Okay. Betty had asked for something to be brought up. It's peace then, peace now, I'm guessing. But there's a new book on Jane Fonda entitled Jane Fonda's War by Mary Hershberger that Betty doesn't care for.
C.I.: I'm sorry, Betty.
Betty: No, I loved reading most of it. C.I. gave me a copy, I think most of us got a copy. Right?
Rebecca: Right. And I think I know what you're going to talk about. I've avoided noting the book at my site for that reason. I do enjoy the book of speeches and intend to note that. The speeches were collected and edited by Hershberger as well.
Betty: This is about the media. It's about the government. It's about a war on peace. Which is why I'm bringing it up. There's a section in the book that has no relation to reality and I know Dona's warning about time so what I'd like to do, if that's okay, is read the section that infurated me and have C.I. rebutt line by line. Is that okay?
Jim: Fine by me. C.I.?
C.I.: Sure.
Betty: This begins on page 52 and continues through page 53. The discussion is about how J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI attempted to smear those speaking out. This section focuses on Jean Seberg and C.I. has brought that up in roundtables and written of it at The Common Ills. What the woman presents in this book is not reality. Jean Seberg is pregnant, she's an actress famous for Breathless, among other films. She is publicly with Romain Gary. Both are White. The decision is made to discredit her. The FBI decides they will discredit her by stating that she's carrying the baby of a Black Panther which is supposed to send shock waves through the still racist America. Richard Wallace Held is the FBI agent Hershberger identifies as participating.
C.I.: But there were more.
Betty: Right. So he prepares a letter with a phony signature that won't be traced back to the FBI, the book tells you. "Held heeded the order and then sent his letter to Hollywood gossip columnist Joyce Harber under a false name, purporting to be a friend of Seberg's." C.I.?
C.I.: If Hershberger knows what really happened, that is a lie. More likely she's bought into the attempts to lynch Harber which allowed others to go scott free. Harber was not sent the letter. Okay, I'm taking a breath. Just to explain the importance of this, what will be done to Seberg destroys her. She will never recover from it. She will suffer under the stress and she will eventually kill herself. This isn't something to be tossed out or something to write about when you don't know your facts. I'll assume Hershberger doesn't know her facts. That sentence alone contains a huge inaccuracy. Harber was not sent the letter. She was given it. She was given it by Bill Thomas, then the city editor of The Los Angeles Times, and he wrote at the top of the letter something like, "Joyce, I don't know if you care, but this comes from a reliable source." Joyce Harber was not sent the letter. She didn't do a blind item, but I'm getting ahead, on some letter she was sent. An editor at the paper passed it on and vouched for it. That was Bill Thomas. Bill Thomas publicly admitted to that. He had to because the letter was in Harber's files and anyone could see Thomas' note that he'd scribbled on it. When he admitted to it he denied remembering anything about it. Bill Thomas was up to his neck in that. He also, just FYI, was the person who fired Joyce Harber from the paper.
Betty: "She didn't name Jean Seberg, calling her "Miss A," but she printed unique details of Seberg's life and career that made the identity of 'Miss A' obvious."
C.I.: Well the item could have described several. That's what a blind item is. The musical in the item is probably the biggest clue but many could have read it and thought, for instance, "Jane Fonda" and just assumed she'd signed to do a musical and they didn't know about it.
Betty: I'm going to hurry this along. "Newspapers and magazines around the country picked up the story, and an emotionally fragile Seberg attempted suicide. Doctors tried to save her baby's life by performaing a ceasearn section, but the baby lived only two days."
C.I.: There are so many lies in that I don't know where to start. Harber wrote for The LA Times. Her column was also syndicated. Those who carried her syndicated column picked it up as they normally did. It did not cause anything like what that woman describes in her book. Rebecca told me not to read that because she knows how I am about Seberg. Not to read the book. I'm glad I didn't. Is Flyboy listening?
Rebecca: Yes. Why?
C.I.: See if he'll speak for a minute.
Flyboy: Sure. What's up?
C.I.: I've talked in roundtables about this and written about it at The Common Ills. Betty knows and everyone else knows what happened. I'm thinking you may not.
Flyboy: Not really. Just what Betty was reading and Rebecca telling me, "Oh my God, C.I. is going to be furious." That was when she was reading the book.
C.I.: You heard what Betty read. Could you tell me the events as the author portrays them?
Flyboy: A gossip columinist at an LA paper writes that Jean Seberg is pregnant by a Black Panther. Jean Seberg tries to kill herself. The baby dies.
C.I.: Thank you. That is such a fucking lie -- and I just told one member last week I'd try to watch my own language in these editions. I do not take kindly to anyone lying about Jean Seberg. Rebecca said skip the book or you'll be pissed. Jean Seberg went into the hospital in August. The trauma at that time was Newsweek, not The Los Angeles Times. When the Harber blind item ran it was May of 1970.
Betty: May 19, 1970 according to the endnote.
C.I.: Thank you. Sebergs ends up in the hospital in August, after Seberg o.d.ed on sleeping pills, which was not thought by all to be a suicide attempt, she was taken to the hospital. While she was in the hospital, Edward Behr wrote up a bit on her for Newsweek. He maintained that he included the 'news' that the baby's father was a Black Panther in his cable to Newsweek's NY headquarters because he was just trying to prove he was 'on' the story and in the know but it wasn't for publication. In the cable he does mark that "Strictly FYI". That ends up running in Newsweek. Kermit Lasner will offer the laughable excuse that he had no idea how that piece of shit made it into the magazine because he'd had a scooter accident at lunch. Newseek printed, August 24th issue, 1970, that, this is a quote, I damn well know what they printed: "She and French author Romain Gary, 56, are reportedly about to remarry even though the baby Jean expects in Ocotober is by another man -- a black activist she met in California." That's what got picked up everywhere, including in The Des Moines Register, Seberg's hometown paper. Now that book is supposed to utilize government documents and the FBI had Seberg's phones tapped, including her hospital phone, so they knew very well that her state of mind was frantic after Newsweek published the item. She lost the baby because of the Newsweek article. I question everything that Betty quoted including the timeline. Newsweek printed it, it got picked up everywhere, Jean Seberg lost her baby, and Romain Gary was quite clear whom he blamed when he wrote "The Big Knife" which was published in France-Soir. This was a very huge thing, in press on both sides of the Atlantic. It's still a huge deal to many and one of the main reasons I never link to the piece of crap Newsweek.
Betty: I knew it was wrong. We've discussed this and it's addressed in "Spying and Seberg" but I had to wonder how an author gets it that wrong? Maybe because it's a little easier to go after a dead gossip columnist than it is to go after Newsweek?
C.I.: To be honest with you, that's exactly where I went as well. Joyce Harber was scapegoated for that thing which she never would have read if the city editor hadn't vouched for it. Bill Thomas got off scott free. But what Harber did was a bit of gossip. In a blind item. Newsweek, not a gossip publication, printed a lie in their magazine and that set off a wave outside of any gossip community. They knew what would happen when they did that, both to Seberg and in terms of being echoed throughout the press. That was nothing but corporate media going after a peace activist. It's exactly the kind of crap they've always done and for an author of a book published by The Free Press to either not know or to avoid telling readers the actual truth is just disgusting. It's the August 24, 1970 issue of Newsweek. Anyone who doubts it can get their ass to a libary and utilize the reels or microfiche.
Dona: I just want to note that this wasn't true, it was something created by the FBI, and, therefore, it needs to be asked how a Newsweek reporter in France got hold of the information?
So now we're on the topic of the media. Okay, everyone, we're taking a break. C.I. just walked off in disgust.
Jim: And we're back. Before we move on, do you want to add anything C.I.?
C.I.: Just that if you feel the press led to the death of Seberg's child, I do, and that it was a government plot, which has been established and someone needing a source can comb through Richard Cohen's columns, he's written very strongly about it, after the FBI records became public, at The Washington Post, you name the people involved. This is the sort of cowardice we see too much of it, if it's not ignorance, a refusal to go after the big targets because you're scared. It makes my blood boil. Betty's right, it's really easy to go after a gossip columnist. It's a lot more difficult to go after Newsweek for some. But the reality is that it was Newsweek in August, not Harber in May that printed the lie and printed Jean Seberg's name by it. It was a government plot against Seberg and running to hide behind gossip columnists sure does allow Newsweek breathing room. When the government decides to destroy someone and when you can prove that it was a plot to destroy her, carried out by the FBI, with J. Edgar Hoover's approval, you tell the truth about it. You don't write, "OH MY GOD! JOYCE HARBER RAN A BLIND ITEM AND IT DESTROYED JEAN SEBERG!" The blind item worried her. Newsweek destroyed her. There's a difference.
As you'll note, C.I. can and did name all the parties involved. And did so with no needed research, she knows the story. But Mary Hershberger, allgedly researching the issue, can't call out Newsweeks or even get her damn timeline right. It's a bad book.
And one would assume 'historian' Howie Zinn would damn well know the history.
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Friday, October 3, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces another death, Rosa Clement (Green Party) and Matt Gonzalez (independent) take part in a vice presidential debate this morning, Sarah Palin (Republican) and Joe Biden (Democrat) took part in a vice presidential debate last night, what got signed in Iraq today?, and more.
Megan Feldman (Dallas Observer) notes the suicides of war veterans Andrew Valez, Ted Westhusing, Nils Aron Andersson, Jeff Lucey, Derek Henderson and Chad Barrett and explains:
A series of recent reports reveals that record numbers of active-duty troops are committing suicide, raising concerns about the military's ability to adequately screen, diagnose and treat soldiers with mental health problems.
An Army report released in May showed that at least 115 soldiers killed themselves in 2007, the highest rate since the Army began keeping records in 1980. One of the officials to present the study cited extended and multiple deployments, frequent exposure to "horrifying" experiences and easy access to loaded weapons.
This year's suicide tally among active-duty troops -- 62 confirmed and 31 other deaths still under investigation -- is on pace t surpass last year's and push the rate of suicides per 100,000 service members above that of the civilian population for the first time ever, Army officials announced in early September.
The reports follow the controversy that enveloped the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs earlier this year when the agency was caught deliberately hiding high suicide rates among veterans. An e-mail to colleagues from Ira Katz, the VA's head of mental health, began "Shh!" and estimated the unreleased number of suicide attempts at 1,000 per month. "Is this something we should (carefully) address ourselves in some sort of release before someone stumbles on it?" he wrote. That was after the agency told CBS there were just 790 suicide attempts in all of 2007. After a three-month investigation, the network reported "a hidden epidemic" of suicides among veterans, especially the youngest ones who had served most recently.
In November of last year, CBS News aired a story entitled 'Suicide Epidemic Among Veterans.' On April 21, 2008, CBS News aired a story 'VA Hid Suicide Risk, Internal E-mails Show.' The reports (Armen Keteyian reported and Pia Malbran was the producer of the reports) were noted in an May 6th hearing of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee entitled "The Truth About Veterans' Suicides." The chair of the committee is US House Rep Bob Filner who pointed to these reports in his opening states and reminded Dr. Ira Katz (one of the witnesses appearing before the hearing) that not only had CBS News reported on this after being misled by the VA in November, but that Katz had told Congress in December 2007 that "from the beginning of the war through the end of 2005 there were 144 known suicides among these new veterans." Katz' e-mail that Feldman refers to in her report was replied to by Ev Chasen (VA's chief communication director) who declared, "I think this is something we should discuss ourselves, before issuing a release. Is the fact that we're stopping them good news, or is the sheer number bad news? And is this more than we've ever seen before? It might be something we drop into a general release about suicide prevention efforts, which (as you know far better than I) prominently include training employees to recognize the warning signs of suicide."
In July, the VA was stated that their suicide hotiline had received calls from more than 22,000 veterans (the number is 1-800-873-TALK). And, apparently keeping Ev Chasen's words in mind ("Is the fact that we're stopping them good news, or is the sheer number bad news?") declared that their work had prevented 1,221 suicides.
The May 6th hearing would include testimony from Dr. Roger Maris (University of South Carolina) where he would note that "the vast majority of VA facilities, in fact, do not have suicide coordinators." Monday Mike Mount (CNN) reported, "The U.S. Army is establishing a suicide prevention board to examine the mental health of its recruiters around the country after the fourth suicide in three years by Houston, Texas-based recruiters, according to Army officials. The board will look at how to handle the high-stress climate facing recruiters who may be both under pressure from their job and victims of post-combat deployment stress, according to Douglas Smith, a spokesman from the U.S. Army Recruiting command." CNN refers to a recent suicide in the article and states they've chosen not to name the victim. AP reports there were two recent ones (Staff Sgt. Larry G. Flores Jr in August and Sgt 1st Class Patrick G. Henderson in September) "from the same Houston-based battalion" for a total of five from that battalion. Linsay Wise (Houston Chronicle) quotes Texas Tech's psychology chair David Rudd stating, "Clearly, there's a problem. Somebody needs to look and see if there's a broader national problem outside of this one battalion. Is it a problem placing these combat veterans in recruiting positions?" Wise also notes that US Senator John Cornyn has asked the Secretary of the Army "for a briefing on the ongoing investigation and on the policy of returning soldiers from combat and reassigning them to a recruiting office."
Today Kathlyn Stone (Twin Cities Daily Planet) reports on the work of Penny Coleman who runs PTSD workshops (and states, "It's not a disorder, it's an injury") including one in August at the Veterans For Peace conference and notes, "The VA is in denial about PTSD contributing to the high suicide rate of combat veterans, she says, adding that official counts aren't accurate. Speaking of Vietnam vets, Coleman said, 'There are more suicides than names on the [Vietnam Memorial] wall.' Veterans For Peace members agree that the United States must be better prepared to provide not only care for physical wounds but also better mental health support for soldiers now serving or just returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Coleman cited figures released by CBS News documenting over 6,256 military suicides in 2005." At the start of the week John C. Bersia (McClatchy-Tribune) observed, "Most Americans are familiar with the official Iraq toll -- as of last week, 4,169 U.S. dead, along with a several hundred from allied nations. Missing from that list, though, are Americans who fulfilled their duties and returned home unable to cope with the complexities of life after Iraq, often compounded by post-traumatic stress disorder. One such person died last week; his name was Dominic D.H. Pritchard, a resident of Ovideo, Fla. He was a U.S. Marine, a student, a citizen-soldier who volunteered with the Florida Army National Guard because of his desire to serve his community in times of clamity, and an emerging writer with a particular passion for history, military affairs and art."
Meanwhile retired Army Col and retired US State Dept Ann Wright pens a column for The Fayetteville Observer:
As a former army officer who once served proudly at Fort Bragg, I'll be returning here Wednesday. I'm going to join in a commemoration of the deaths of three military women, and the suffering of the many other victims of military-related domestic violence and sexual assault.
The commemoration will start with a vigil at the Yadkin Road gate of Fort Bragg at 11 a.m. The vigil will be followed by a luncheon-discussion at 12:30 p.m. at the Quaker House and conclude with a wreath-laying at the grave of another victim of military spousal homicide.
We invite the military and civilian communities of Fayetteville and Jacksonville to join us.
We'll be especially mindful of the three women soldiers who were murdered in this area in the first six months of this year, allegedly by male GIs: Army Spc. Megan Touma, who was seven months pregnant; Fort Bragg nurse 2nd Lt. Holley Wimunc; and Marine Lance Corp. Maria Lauterbach, who had been raped and also was pregnant.
And AP is reporting that arrrests have been made in the death of Sgt Christina E. Smith ("the third off-post killing of a Fort Bragg servicewoman in four months") -- her husband, Sgt. Richard Smith, is "charged with first-degree and conspiracy to commit murder" and "Pfc. Matthew Kvapil, 18, faces the same charges, and [Theresa] Chance [spokesperson for Fayetteville police] said he was hired by Smith to kill the wife as the couple walked together Tuesday evening."
In Iraq today . . . confusion. Corinne Reilly (McClatchy Newspapers) reports that the presidency council "has agreed to approve a long-delayed law that will allow most of the country to hold provincial elections early next year, officials said Friday." However, China's Xinhua reports that the "presidential council had not approved the provincial election law passed by the parliament, local media reported Friday." Al Jazeera does not say that they have agreed to pass it, Al Jaezeera states that it is passed. AP also states it has passed and, in fact, signed into law by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani: "Firyad Rawndouzi, a Kurdish lawmaker, told The Associated Press that the three-member panel led by President Jalal Talabani had signed the law Friday and asked the parliament 'to solve the minorities problem'." Article 50 issue was never addressed. It is the one that has been called out by everyone from Iraqi Christians to Moqtada al-Sadr and puts minority representation at risk. Nouri al-Maliki did express some public statements and there is said to have been concern on the part of the presidency council. But if it's signed, it's the law. The Parliament can try to fix it but the law is what was signed by Talabani.
Erica Goode and Mohammed Hussein (New York Times) report on Samarra and among the details provided by the reporters is that the reconstruction of Askairya Shrine (after the 2007 bombing) is not only expensive (expected to cost $8 million), the reconstruction is being done "without blueprints." Samara, like everywhere in Iraq, suffers from the same problems: "few jobs available, that the water is not potable, that the electricity is intermittent at best, that they have not received their pensions and that there are shortages of medicine." At Baghdad Bureau Blog (the paper's blog) Mohammed Hussein has written of the journey taken to report that story and notes, "The Awakening and National Police and Iraqi army all manned different checkpoints. It took one and a half hours to drive only 70 miles. There was some risk along the whole journey, but during the 90-minute drive I was really worried for only five minutes, near Meshahda. Five minutes can be a big deal." Hussein shares impressions of all the areas they traveled through, by the way.
Wednesday, the US 'handed over' the "Awakening" Councils to the puppet government in Baghdad. Scott Peterson (Christian Science Monitor) reports today: "Fresh concern is washing over Iraq of a new wave of insurgent violence as the bands of mainly Sunni Muslim Iraqis, trained, armed and paid by the US military to fight Al Qaeda in Iraq are now coming under the control of a skeptical Shiite-led government. While the group called the Sons of Iraq (SOI) has been critically imporant in improving security, the US military and many leaders within the SOI worry that their foot soldiers -- many of them ex-insurgents -- will simply return to their old ways if they are not paid or brought into Iraq's official security forces." The Charleston Post and Courier editorializes on the same topic, expresses similar concerns and notes: "Doubts about the ability of the two sides to quickly develop a satisfactory relationship is a major reason why the Pentagon on Wednesday announced plans for sending additional forces to Iraq next year. The reinforcements, if needed, would maintain U.S. troop strength in Iraq at the present level of about 152,000 through 2009." Meanwhile UPI reports on the female branch of "Awakening" (also called Daughters of Iraq) and states that "is taking on a new role under U.S. financing as part of the counterinsurgency strategy there, officials said." They are paid 20% less than males and that wage discrimination was put in place by the White House. On the issue of counter-insurgency, Karen DeYoung and Walter Pincus (Washington Post) report on the US Defense Department's latest contracts ("up to $300 million") which will "produce news stories, entertainment programs and public service advertisements" in Iraq aimed at Iraqis in a program called "information/psychological operations" that is part of the counter-insurgency strategies. The US has a lengthy history of attempting to use the media within Iraq to propagandize to the Iraqi people. For an earlier effort, you can refer to Borzou Daragahi and Mark Mazzetti (Los Angeles Times) explaining the process in 2005 which noted the US military penned articles and that many were then "presented in the Iraqi press as unbiased news accounts written and reported by independent journalists. The stories trumpet the work of U.S. and Iraqi troops, denounced insurgents and tout U.S.-led efforts to rebuild the country."
It's Friday so little violence gets reported but some of today's violence includes:.
Bombings?
Reuters notes a Sulaiman Pek roadside bombing which resulted in two people being injured.
Shootings?
Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 1 corpse discovered in Baghdad.
Today the US military announced: "A Multi-National Division -- Center Soldier was killed when an improvised explosive device exploded near his vehicle south of Amarah Oct. 2." That is the first announced death for the month and brings the number of US service members killed in Iraq to 4177 since the start of the illegal war.
On Democracy Now! today, a vice presidential debate took place between Matt Gonzales (Ralph Nader's running mate) and Rosa Clemente (Cynthia McKinney's running mate). During their debate, they were shown clips of GOP v.p. nominee Governor Sarah Palin and Democratic v.p. nominee Joe Biden weighing in on various topics from last night's debate.
From the transcript (and remember, it is watch, listen or read at DN!):
JUAN GONZALEZ: Governor Sarah Palin and Senator Biden, talking about the war in last night's debate. Rosa Clemente, Green Party vice-presidential nominee, what's your viewpoint on the war?
ROSA CLEMENTE: Well, the Green Party's viewpoint -- and Cynthia has been very clear, and the party has been very clear -- an immediate end to the war, an immediate withdrawal of troops in Iraq, but also in Afghanistan. And, you know, one thing Cynthia agrees with a former colleague of hers, Dennis Kucinich, is that we now have to talk about creating departments of peace. And we have to also talk about withdrawing troops wherever they reside in other people's homelands. I always found it interesting -- or, you know, the fact that we, as the United States government, and we, as the people in this country, allow our military to be placed in other people's homelands. And being from Puerto Rico, I'm very clear on why the military does what it does. But we would never allow another country to have a military base there. And that might be a little simplistic kind of thing to throw out there, but I also think it speaks to the way we want to move forward in the future. And I don't think that either party is planning on ending the war. I think that the Democrats are more about transferring troops to Afghanistan and potentially preparing for a war in Pakistan. And even yesterday, Joe Biden talked about the possibility of putting troops in in Darfur. And I think that's something that we have to say immediately is unacceptable and that the majority of young people in this country have been clear for the last five years that we want an end to the war right now.
AMY GOODMAN: Independent vice-presidential candidate Matt Gonzalez?
MATT GONZALEZ: Well, I certainly -- and Ralph Nader supports getting our troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan immediately. I think the problem with a lot of the rhetoric that we're hearing is that if you concede that the surge is working, which we do not concede--but the moment you do that, you are going to run into a problem with the so-called timetable. Are the Democrats going to stick to a timetable if, as they start to draw down troops, there's increased sectarian violence? And I think the answer to that is really unclear, and probably no. I think the only way that we can successfully get out of this country is if, at the outset, we make it clear we're going to -- we're going to work quickly to get our troops out of the region, that we're part of the reason why the region remains unstable.
And we'll also note this section of the debate:
AMY GOODMAN: Matt Gonzalez, I know you have to leave, so I'm going to give you the first stab at this, as you catch a plane. And also, a correction: in 2004, yes, Ralph Nader was an Independent candidate, as well. He was, 2000, the Green Party candidate. Your comment on same-sex marriage?
MATT GONZALEZ: Well, obviously, Nader and I support marriage rights for all. I think it's insulting to hear these candidates want it both ways. They're essentially trying to appeal to both conservative voters who are opposed to gay marriage and somehow also appeal to progressive voters who want to see equality. You know, I think Ralph Nader, you know, when you step back and look at his history, he is somebody who is an enormously important voice against the growing corporate greed in this society and what concentrated capital does when it's left alone. And I think he's not somebody who has decided to fight against the two parties. You know, he has, his entire life, been fighting against these parties -- it's not a recent conversion -- on a host of issues. And I think he should have been in this debate. I think he has a legislative record that's stronger than the candidates that we saw in that debate. I mean, Joe Biden should have been asked about his support of credit card companies in Delaware, of the federal sentencing guidelines that he helped pass in the 1980s that, you know, has disproportionately hurt people of color. These were things that were absent. And I think if Rosa and I had been in that debate, it would have been a better debate.
AMY GOODMAN: And, Rosa Clemente, your perspective on gay marriage?
ROSA CLEMENTE: I mean, full 100 percent equal rights for everybody. I also take it a step further for it being about human rights. LGBT people are human beings, and they have a right, like anyone else, to get married, to get divorced, to not get married. But if I could just quickly just say, yes, Cynthia did leave the Democratic Party after twelve years, but while she was in there, it was Cynthia McKinney that had a hearing on the issue of political prisoners, the first-ever congressional hearing on that. It was Cynthia that pushed the envelope about what happened on 9/11. It was Cynthia that wrote the articles of impeachment. And I think that speaks highly to someone who will leave a party, finally, based on principles and values and then pick someone that truly represents what the majority of this country is going to look like. I think if me and Matt were on there, and if Cynthia, Bob Barr, [Chuck] Baldwin, Ron Paul and Ralph Nader were allowed to debate, the presidency on November 4th would look radically different and would represent the majority of American people.
Green Party presidential nominee Cynthia McKinney took the "super pledge" Thursday:
I, Cynthia McKinney, pledge to use my candidacy, whenever feasible, to advance the preservation of democracy. I will officially challenge the results of the election as provided by law if the combination of election conditions, incident reports and announced election results calls into question the reliability of the official vote count. I will wait until all valid votes are counted and all serious challenges resolved before declaring victory or conceding defeat. I will involve my campaign volunteers in actions to enhance the accuracy and verifiability of the election in which I am a candidate. I will speak out publicly during the pre-election period about the importance of fair, accurate and transparent elections and about this pledge. I will designate a liaison between my campaign and "Standing For Voters" so that "Standing For Voters" can alert me to any red flags they are aware of regarding my election.
Meanwhile independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader weighs in on the economic bailout. Click here for his post before the House voted today (it passed) and here were his thoughts prior to vote:
People often ask me -- what forces shaped you, Ralph? I reply simply: "A lucky choice of parents." Among other things, my parents passed down many traditions. Traditions that were handed down from generations before them. Traditions that served as a counterweight to the addictions. And fads. And technologies.
Of modern life. Traditions such as: The tradition of listening. The tradition of scarcity. The tradition of discipline. And the tradition of civics. A couple of years ago, I sat down at my manual Underwood typewriter and wrote a book titled The Seventeen Traditions (Harper Collins, 2007). It's about growing up in my hometown of Winsted, Connecticut (above is a picture of me standing next to my mother Rose). And it details the seventeen traditions of my youth. It's the only book that I've written that everybody loves. When you get a copy, you'll know why. Flipping through a copy of the book the other day, I asked myself -- If the majority in this Congress was governed by the traditions that we grew up with in the New England of my youth -- wouldn't they have acted to prevent Wall Street's "sustained orgy of excess and reckless behavior" -- as Richard Fisher, the president of the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank put it last week?
Surely they wouldn't then turn around and reward that behavior with a $750 billion bailout? By now you know that McCain, Obama and Bush all support the bailout. And Nader/Gonzalez are opposed. And we again urge all members of the House to vote against the bailout today.
But no matter how the House votes today, Nader/Gonzalez will be barnstorming the country in October. Putting front and center our platform of shifting the power from the corporations back into the hands of the American people. We're on the ballot in 45 states and the District of Columbia. We've deployed a contingent to each state to coordinate our get out the vote drive. And we're raising money to drive the campaign home to election day. But we need to raise $1,000,000 in October to get it done. Our first October goal is to raise $250,000 by October 12. Yes, that's a heavy lift. But it's been heavy before, and you've come through every time. So, here's the idea:If you donate $17, or $170, or $10, or $50 -- whatever you can afford to donate -- by midnight tonight, we'll e-mail to you tomorrow a signed one pager listing the 17 traditions.
You can share it with your friends and family.Or just stick it in your drawer for posterity's sake.If you donate $100 now, we will send you a copy of the 150-page hard cover edition of The Seventeen Traditions -- my favorite book. And I'll autograph it.In my humble opinion, this book makes a wonderful present -- for the upcoming holidays, as a wedding present, birthday present, Mother's Day present, or for a baby shower. (This Seventeen Traditions book offer expires on October 12, 2008 at 11:59 p.m.)So, stock up now.The more the merrier. The proceeds will power our campaign during this momentous October.Thank you again for your generous support.Together, we are making a difference.
Onward to November
Thursday night, Governor Sarah Palin and Senator Joe Biden debated. The John McCain - Sarah Palin campaign issued this statement regarding the debate:
Statement From Communications Director Jill Hazelbaker
ARLINGTON, VA -- McCain-Palin 2008 Communications Director Jill Hazelbaker issued the following statement on tonight's Vice Presidential Debate: "Tonight, Governor Palin proved beyond any doubt that she is ready to lead as Vice President of the United States. She won this debate, putting Joe Biden on defense on energy, foreign policy, taxes and the definition of change. Governor Palin laid bare Barack Obama's record of voting to raise taxes, opposing the surge in Iraq, and proposing to meet unconditionally with the leaders of state sponsors of terror. The differences between the Obama-Biden ticket and the McCain-Palin ticket could not have been clearer. The American people saw stark contrasts in style and worldview. They saw Joe Biden, a Washington insider and a 36-year Senator, and Governor Palin, a Washington outsider and a maverick reformer. Governor Palin was direct, forceful and a breath of fresh air."
The McCain - Palin campaign also quotes Geraldine Ferraro, the first women to make the ticket of one of the country's two major parties (1984, the Democratic ticket of Mondale - Ferraro). Ferraro stated on NBC: "I really wanted her to get up there and do a good job, and I think she did. . . . I think it was a good evening for -- certainly for Governor Palin. . . . . I think she showed she is certainly capable of going toe to toe with a man who is more than qualified to be vice president, if not president of the United States."
Quickly, TV notes, NOW on PBS offers a look at New Mexico which is seen as a battleground state in the 2008 election and speak to various voting groups as well as to Governor Bill Richardson. Washington Week finds Gwen sitting around the table with four journalists including the AP's Charles Babington. (And for others, 'journalists' is being generous.) In a book note, independent journalist David Bacon's latest book is Illegal People -- How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants (Beacon Press) which came out last month. The Oakland Institute notes: "Since NAFTA's passage in 1993, the U.S. Congress has debated and passed several new trade agreements - with Peru, Jordan, Chile, and the Central American Free Trade Agreement. At the same time it has debated immigration policy as though those trade agreements bore no relationship to the waves of displaced people migrating to the U.S., looking for work. Meanwhile, a rising tide of anti-immigrant hysteria has increasingly demonized those migrants, leading to measures that deny them jobs, rights, or any pretense of equality with people living in the communities around them. To resolve any of these dilemmas, from adopting rational and humane immigration policies to reducing the fear and hostility towards migrants, Uprooted: The Impact of Free Market on Migrants, a new Backgrounder from the Oakland Institute, suggests the starting point has be an examination of the way U.S. policies have both produced migration and criminalized migrants."
iraq
the new york timeserica goode
armen keteyianpia malbran
democracy now
karen deyoungwalter pincusthe washington postthe los angeles timesborzou daragahimark mazzetti
scott peterson
david bacon
now on pbspbswashington week
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)